Brotherhood
by BeniKaze
Summary: I have gained the abilities of one of the most feared men in the world but power alone isn't what I seek. I want a stable world where war isn't lurking around every corner. However, I am no fool, I can't do it alone. I need a group of my closest allies. I need a Brotherhood. Naruto x Kyuubi x Yugito, Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, but neither do you
1. Chapter 1

**Hey everyone, it's BeniKaze here. This may seem extremely similar to another story of mine I had out a while ago because it is, I deleted the old one and decided to use the first chapter as a starting point for the new one. This is a rewrite but after this first chapter things will change from the old one, people will be introduced in different orders and who I introduce will change as well. So hold on guys cause I don't know what's in store, haha!**

Key:

"Naruto"-speaking of humans and demons in human form

_'Naruto'__-_thoughts of humans and demons in human form

"**Naruto"****-**demon/sentient talking in demon form

**'**_Naruto'_-demon/sentient thinking in demon form

"_**Naruto"**__-_anyone speaking through mental link

Chapter 1

Mito slowly walked through the large field of tall grass and enjoyed the sun light and as she approached her destination as she willed a small wooden cane to form in her hands before leaving the meadow. Once she had stepped out of the meadow she walked up to a small house, a simple and quaint one bedroom and one bath wooden house. She slid open the door and walked into the living room to see a red head girl in a royal blue kimono with a gold Obi tied around her waist sitting on the blood red couch. Mito walked around the low table and sat down and let out a sigh as she let her old bones rest from the tedious walk to the small house.

"There isn't much time, Hitome-chan" said Mito in a raspy voice making Hitome's black slitted crimson eyes widen.

"Do not fret, I will put you inside a new host within the hour and by the end I will no longer be here. Please take good care of the host and I am also here to give you something and a mission, I need you to do when I'm gone."

"What is it?" asked Hitome with slightly teary eyes.

"I sealed Tobimara's DNA and chakra within a seal which in turn would give someone his abilities if formed within a developing child. I give you the seal and I want you to give this to whoever you deem fit, whether it be the new host or one three generations later but make sure you are certain they deserve it. Now I need to go, stay safe and take care" said Mito before hugging Hitome and disappearing from the mindscape.

Not even hour later Hitome felt herself transfer from Mito and felt the different energy of a new host. She could no longer sense Mito's life presence and knew she had passed but she relished in the sense of vitality in her new host, showing she would live a long life and she planned to do her best to make it so.

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Naruto ran through the small forest near the park, dodging tree's and jumping over bushes, running farther and farther into the forest as it got denser and denser. He didn't have any bad reason to run but he wanted to get to his spot as fast as possible because it looked best for only a small amount of time. He picked up the pace and ran at extremely fast speeds to him which was close to academy speeds to others. The ten year old boy was a bit small for his age but what he lacked in height and muscle mass he gained in speed. He was the fastest in his class, faster than even Sasuke Uchiha, the supposed best in the class.

It was close to sun down when Naruto arrived at an empty clearing and stopped, he had arrived just in time to watch what he had came there for. As the sun set it cast an orange glow along the water, giving the long grass a bright yellow color. The large cherry blossom tree that stood near him with its petals floating in the gentle breeze seemed to glow as it reflected the sun's rays.

He would have enjoyed it more but someone had appeared behind him and spoke "Hello, Naruto." Naruto spun around to see the aged Hokage in his white robes standing behind him.

Naruto smiled a bit "Hello jiji, did you come to watch the sun set?"

"Of course" said Hiruzen as he walked into the clearing and Naruto sat down in the grass while Hiruzen stood. He knew Naruto usual liked to sit but the last few times he had tried to access his chakra here so he watched Naruto to see if he had made any progress.

Naruto sat cross legged as he concentrated on accessing his chakra, he looked deep into himself, trying to feel for anything there to grab onto. It took almost ten minutes before he felt something there, something warm and calming deep within him. Assuming it was his chakra he focused on it as much as he could, trying to access it. Hiruzen noticed the small burst of chakra from Naruto and as quick as it arrived it disappeared and Naruto let out a sigh and fell backwards.

"Agh, I almost had it this time!" said Naruto in frustration. Hiruzen smiled at the boy but noticed something off, when Naruto did that the water seemed to act up a bit. The other odd thing was Naruto's chakra was much denser than any child he had ever seen access chakra.

"You'll get it next time Naruto, don't give up" said the hokage as Naruto stood up and turned to him.

"Jiji, can I get a new apartment soon?" asked Naruto

"I'm sorry I cannot move you anywhere as of yet, I'm trying to find you someone you can live with right now. If you work really hard and become a ninja you can buy your own house and you won't have to worry about living with anyone." Naruto's face lightened up at the idea of owning his own house and he smiled a large toothy grin.

"Well just you wait, in three years I will have this down and become the best ninja you've ever seen" said Naruto before running off into the forest and back home. Hiruzen shook his head and smiled at the boy's excitement before he disappeared in a shunshin to his own home.

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Two years later

Naruto let out a sigh as he watched the sun set atop one of the tall trees in his special meadow. Close to year ago he had unlocked his chakra and thanks to scrolls from the hokage he was quite adapt in controlling it but he didn't know many jutsu. He knew the henge, substitution and the shadow clone. The shadow clone was a kinjutsu because of the amount of chakra it took and the mental toll because each clone relayed information to the user when it dispelled. So if he used them for information it could cause a severe strain on one's mind. The hokage had granted him the right to use it since his chakra was abnormally large and he couldn't create a regular clone like others at the academy, even with his chakra control techniques. He was not allowed to learn any other jutsu besides a few like the shadow shuriken jutsu and the variant for the kunai but those were extremely minor jutsu. Of course he had sneaked two jutsu but they were minor wind and water jutsu's.

He had convinced his jiji to let him study Fuinjutsu and he was starting off well from what the hokage had told him. There were ten levels in the ninja world and he was just now starting the second which was making small things like small seals to hold a few weapons. The one he finished before that was just simple rules to Fuinjutsu and what marks meant what for sealing. He hoped to become at least level three before the academy ended and at his rate he should be getting started a few weeks before the graduation test.

Now over the last two years Naruto did notice something off, each time he accessed his chakra for anything he felt a slight tug on a darker energy but assumed it was merely his imagination. Naruto watched the sun set completely over the horizon before turning and jumping from tree to tree towards his small, rundown apartment he called home.

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One year later

Naruto let out an exasperated sigh as he sat down, large scroll sat in front of him and rain falling down in at a steady tempo. He had failed the exams once again for not creating a regular clone and his secondary teacher Mizuki told him if he could get the scroll of sealing and take it he could pass. Naruto knew he had finished ahead of time and decided to take a quick look at the scroll before his teacher got there to see if there was anything useful to him and when he opened he read through the basics of the shadow clone and something with his name on it. Close to five minutes later Iruka landed next to him and he looked furious for some reason which stopped Naruto from reading anymore about the shadow clone jutsu and it's variants.

"Naruto, where have you been and why did you take the scroll of sealing?!" asked an extremely irritated Iruka.

"I took it because Mizuki told me if I did I could become a ninja" said a clueless Naruto before he sensed hate coming from above and turned to see his other sensei with two giant shurikens on his back.

"Mizuki, .no…."

"Iruka, yes! I told Naruto about a fake exam and got him to steal it for me. I hoped to kill just him and get out of here but it seems I have you to deal with as well" said Mizuki with a crazy smile on his face.

This time Naruto spoke "Why would you want me to steal it? Why not get it yourself?"

Mizuki chuckled "Well to tell you that I must tell you something else as well, the reason you are shunned and treated like an outcast here."

"Mizuki, no!" shouted Iruka but it didn't stop Mizuki.

"The reason everyone shuns you and why I used you is because long ago the fourth hokage never killed the nine tails, he seals it inside of you. When he did that you became the nine tails in human form, the most hated thing in all of Konoha and I used you since there was just going to be more of a reason for your death once I left." Naruto's eyes widened briefly as he let it set in but as soon as it did his mind went to work faster than what they expected.

"Naruto, you're not-" said Iruka before Naruto spoke.

"You're kidding right? I mean I have been working on storage seals and that's basically what I am, but instead of a kunai or sword it's a demon. I assume I can access his or her chakra but I am not the demon, just a host" said Naruto in a realization.

Iruka smiled at his words "Good job Naruto, you deciphered the meaning quicker than most in the village could ever dream of. Now Mizuki, your plan failed and it's time to take you down." Before he could do anything Mizuki acted quickly, throwing a shuriken at Naruto who was still in a bit of shock from the information and surprise at his teacher attacking him. Iruka didn't have the weaponry to block it or the time to push Naruto out of the way and instead tackled him to the ground, taking the hit for him. Once again, Naruto's world seemed to break as he saw his favorite teacher impaled in the back because of his carelessness.

"N-Naruto, run" said Iruka weakly as he rolled to the side and pulled out the shuriken and attempted to stand only to feel a hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Naruto but he had changed slightly, his hair seemed to be more wild, his whiskers were darker and his eyes had changed to crimson and his pupils were black slits like a cat or….a fox.

"Let me handle this sensei" said Naruto and walked forward making Mizuki chuckled a bit.

"You won't stand a chance kid" said Mizuki before firing off his last shuriken. This time Naruto had plenty of time to block it off and simply side stepped the shuriken before words started to pour into his head from a voice he had never heard before but they sounded….like a jutsu.

"**Use it" **said a deep and rumbling voice full of power in his head. Naruto did not have time to find the voice and simple complied with it so he went through the hand seal the voice told him to use.

Naruto clapped his hands together before the rain around them stopped all together.

"N-no way…." Said Iruka as water started to swirl around Naruto and create a towering vortex almost twenty feet high before Naruto spoke.

"**Suiton: Suishōha(Water Release: Colliding shockwave)" **said Naruto and thrust his palms forward to Mizuki and the water seemed to rise a bit more before it created a large wave that collided head on with Mizuki. As soon as the massive wave hit him he felt the water pressure alone force his ribs to break and soon after crush his heart, killing the man as he was washed up far into the forest.

Naruto let out a heavy sigh and his facial features returned to normal and he felt the sever drain of chakra before he collapsed from exhaustion. Iruka who had now stood up walked to Naruto and picked him up along with the scroll next to him and while he went back to the hokage tower he thought to himself.

'_Naruto I don't know how you did all that but you defiantly earned genin rights for that alone' _thought Iruka.

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Mindscape

Naruto opened his eyes to see himself in a damp sewer with water that reached up to his ankles. He was confused a first but his small bit of ninja training kicked in and he pulled out a kunai and surveyed his surroundings. He turned around to see nothing but a wall and realized his only way to go was forward, strangely he felt drawn to the direction so he caved in and let curiosity lead the way. Surprisingly enough it led him to a large room with what look liked cage doors and in the middle was a tag with a kanji that read seal. He was going to step closer only for two large pair of blood red eyes with slitted pupils opened and stared him down, halting his forward movement. Slowly the light seemed to move and he saw the form of a giant fox the size of a mountain or possible bigger with nine tails.

"**Hello human" **said the beast with a deep voice that seemed to cause the very room to shake.

"H-hello, would you be the n-nine tails I was told about?" asked Naruto trying his best not to stutter or really even speak to the great demon.

"**Yes child but please wait one second, it seems this form is counterproductive" **said the mighty Kyuubi before it's body was enveloped in red smoke that quickly disappeared to show a girl, and a beautiful one if Naruto had anything to say about that. It was a girl that seemed to be around his age in appearance, she stood at around his height so close to 5'6" with crimson hair that reached the end of her back. She wore a royal blue kimono with a gold obi tied around her waist and gold colored geta sandals to match.

"Does this ease your fear?" said Kyuubi in a more high pitched and smoother tone that Naruto would describe as angelic.

"Y-yes" said Naruto with a slight stutter in his answer from the shock of seeing what stood in front of him.

"Well good but before I go into who I am and other things I must ask you first change this dreary place. It has been like this for so long now I really would like to see some nature once again" said the demoness.

"How?" asked Naruto with a small tilt of his head.

"This is your mindscape, all you need to do is simply think of what you want and the area will bend to your will." Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated before the room seemed to shimmer and shift into a completely different area and once Naruto opened his eyes he smiled at what he created. The area now looked like the meadow he sat in as a child but instead of a small river it was now a large lake and in the center on a small piece of land was a one story house that could hold two comfortably. Kyuubi's eyes widened, the place looked so similar to Mito's. It was shocking at how similar it was to her original host.

"Is this ok?" asked Naruto with a hint of uncertainty in his voice.

The demoness smiled "This is great, just follow me and we will talk in the house." Naruto nodded his head and they walked over the small wooden bridge before entering the home and both sat on the mats near the low table with tea already prepared.

"Well first off my name is Hitome, I'm sure you know the story of how I was created but let me tell you a quick story of how you were able to use that jutsu. My first host, Mito Uzumaki, had taken DNA and chakra from Tobimara Senju, which if placed in a developing child inside a mother, would gain his own powers. She trusted me to give his abilities to the one I deem fit and when I was sealed inside of my previous host I deemed you worthy. I cannot say much about that day for I am sworn to oath not to but I can say that it was something that would have happened no matter how you looked at it from any point of view and I want to tell you your parents loved you very much. I would tell you all I know but again I am sworn into silence about the day's events and I am in no position to tell you such things to begin with. Forgive me for getting off topic there, now I gave you the ability to use the second hokage's abilities but I also have a gift of my own powers. At some point I will need you to speak to your hokage, ask him if he may loosen the seal so I may feed you more chakra if necessary. Do not fret, he will comply as he knows of my intentions."

Naruto spoke before she continued "Wait, so you're telling me that some lady gave you the ability of a previous Hokage and you decided to give it to me?"

Hitome nodded her head "In simple terms yes but there is a bigger motive. Whoever I deem worthy will be the one who changed the world for the better and saves it from its greatest threat. She knew whoever I was in would need the power of him and my power as well."

"Ok that kind of makes since but if I was going to use someone's ability why couldn't I just use the first Hokage's since his would make me stronger."

"Because she believed no one else deserved the power he possessed, that power is not something she feels anyone can handle. Hashirama grew up with it and learned to use it but someone that wasn't truly in tune with it would not be able to use it or control it and it would consume them and simple drive them crazy" said Hitome.

"Ok, makes sense but I have a question unrelated to the topic you're talking about. If you are a demon or whatever why can you transform into a girl and talk like me?"

Hitome laughed "That's simple, we bijuu are simple creatures of chakra from an ancient being and we can take any form we chose. It's transforming like ninja do but our human transformation was set in stone by the man that created us so we cannot change gender or looks unless we use a transformation like ninja do."

"Thank you, please continue" said Naruto politely and Hitome gave a quick thank you before continuing.

"As I said before talk to your hokage about the seal at some point about the seal. Do you have any other questions?"

"Can I see you again?" asked Naruto.

Hitome blushed at someone other than Mito wanting to see her again but quickly pushed her embarrassment down "Yes, just focus on your mind when you want to sleep or meditate and you will appear in here."

Naruto nodded his head and felt something pulling him out "Well I think I'm going to wake up soon. See you soon." He waved to her and she waved back before his body disappeared and she was left alone once again in the seal.

She lay out on the couch and pulled up a pillow "Things should get interesting now" before sleep took over her.

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Real world

Naruto opened his eyes and slowly sat up while looking around at his surroundings. A completely white room, beeping noises and cleaning products meant he was once again in the konoha hospital. He looked to the window to see the sun was just peaking over the horizon before he heard the door open and he turned his head to see the Hokage.

"Hello jiji" said Naruto as he walked to his bedside and smiled.

"How are you feeling? You somehow used all your chakra in one move if I heard correctly."

"Don't toy with me Hiruzen, you know what happened thanks to that crystal ball you have right next to the scroll of seals."

The Hokage's eyes hardened "Very well, did you learn anything about why you could do that?"

"Seal off the room, this is sensitive information." Hiruzen went through a few quick hand seals and the room glowed for a second before he motioned for Naruto to continue.

"I met the Kyuubi or as she was named Hitome. She told me of how her original host Mito Uzumaki had entrusted her with the second Hokage's abilities. She seemed nice and explained a bit more on herself and how she had a human form and all but she wasn't bad like they make her out to be. She also wanted me to ask you to loosen the seal on me so I can use more of her charka when necessary."

Hiruzen held out a hand "I will look into the seal and how to loosen it a bit without breaking it for the time being. I left some basic water control exercise and some jutsu for you to learn after you have gotten proficient in the exercises. I need to get going though, I hope you get well soon." Naruto nodded his head and Hiruzen left and he felt the presence of the anbu leave as well before he fully relaxed again.

As he sat in silence he noticed something sitting on his bed and picked it up to see it was a head band and from how worn it was he guessed it was someone he knew. He looked closer and saw the color of the cloth was black and with the noticeable scratch on the side of it he knew it was Iruka's since he had held it a few times. He smiled at it and wrapped it around his neck instead of his head before he got up and looked around for his clothes. He knew by now he was fine and after checking his sheet it turns out he was dismissed over two hours ago so he found his mesh shirt and some shorts left by someone else and grabbed his jumpsuit. He had been intent on changing clothes and now was a good a time as any since he knew why the hated him and would feel no remorse when demanding regular prices.

He jumped out the open window and half way to the market district he threw his suit into a trash can outside of a rooftop door and continued on. Naruto landed in front of a new shop that had opened up recently, he hoped this one would not over price him because he didn't want to use any force but if it was necessary he would.

Naruto walked in and noticed the store was considerably larger than he thought it would be, there were more weapons selection and clothes were simple but very different between each. He didn't see the owner so he decided to just explore and look for what he liked and after a few minutes he found a suit that he had never seen before but loved how it looked.

It was a dark blue long sleeved jacket that reached close to his knees and opened slightly in the front and seemed to be multilayered in the front. One layer near the waist then another that reached the bottom of the knee's and another layer seemed to fall from the waist down to mid calf. Under the long jacket was baggy black pants and on his arms were black arm gauntlets that stopped at his hand and if he examined it closer he saw a mechanism within the inside of the gauntlet. On the left shoulder was white fir that went over the shoulder and stopped at the middle of the chest and on his right shoulder was armor that overlapped a bit and connected with the fir in the middle of the chest and back, creating an X shape with the straps from both. In the center of the chest was metal armor and wrapped around the waist was red cloth and over that was a royal blue belt that matched the outer suit. Under the jacket he wore a royal blue scarf that covered all of the neck that was revealed and if he wanted would cover the face and he wore armor plated black boots to finish off the set.**(Link to the pic on my profile for those who want a better look.)**

"Looking good" said a raspy voice from behind him and he turned to see an older gentleman in a dark brown cloak behind him. He had short white hair and well kept bead but the main thing he noticed was the kindness in his eyes.

"Thank you, I was looking for you when I walked in and I didn't see you so I went ahead and looked around" said Naruto as he started to take the suit off but the man held out his hand.

"Don't bother, you can buy it. I have had it for quite some time and I think you deserve it, it looks good on you" said the man.

"Thank you mister…."

"My name is Ezio Auditore, I used to be a ninja but I retired long ago. Now how about I help you find a decent weapon to go with that." Naruto nodded his head and the man walked to the other side of the shop and looked around, he looked at a weapon then at Naruto before the weapon again. After ten minutes of looking and humming to himself he pulled down a box that was on the top shelf and he blew off some dust before opening it and Naruto's eyes widened a bit.

Inside the box was four things, two small blades and two daggers he had never seen before. The small blades were simple silver and he didn't see anything special about them but the daggers were something else. The daggers were black with gold accents and seemed to radiate power all on their own.**(Picture link at the bottom of my profile)**

"Those small blades are called hidden blades and go inside the gauntlets and are used for quiet and close range kills. The daggers are sentient blades, I used to use them fluently but in my old age I have no use to use them. I believe you can let my friend here feel the thrill of battle once more" said Ezio.

Naruto stood still and in complete shock "R-really?"

"Of course, you will put my old tools to good use" said Ezio as he handed him the box before going and walking off to the register and Naruto followed him closely. He ringed up the prices and Naruto didn't see anything on the screen.

"Sir, is there something wrong with the machine?"

"No, I am not ringing anything up" said Ezio.

"Why?"

"What what son?

"Why are you giving all this to me? I'm just an orphan, why would you give me all these things?"

"Just call it your inheritance, I know you're an orphan and you have no parent so I figured I could give my old stuff to someone who could use it better. I knew many like you, I knew how hard it was and how much you struggled to work from nothing and I want to help you as much as I can. In all seriousness I want someone to let my legacy live on, no one has ever used this equipment before and I feel that I can help you and let my legacy live on at the same time." Naruto stood in shock for a few seconds and let the information sink in before he bowed lowly.

"Thank you…..so much" said Naruto making Ezio smile at the young man.

"Think nothing of it, all I ask is you treat them with care" said Ezio and Naruto nodded his head.

"I will sir."

"Good now go, I believe you have team assignment here pretty soon if what those kids from earlier were talking about" said Ezio making Naruto's eyes widen and bolt out of the shop.

As he examined his clothes he wasn't paying attention and slammed into someone along the roof top, sending them tumbling to the ground. Naruto quickly stood up before offering a hand to the person he knocked down only to be shocked at what he saw. Laying on the ground was a young blonde haired girl around his age and she was…cute. She had dirty blonde hair that was tied at the back a bit to look similar to a cat tail and her face seemed a big angular like a cat as well having an athletic body she reminded him of a cat. She had on a simple purple shirt with black skin tight shorts and her face showed surprise and a bit of….fear.

She was about to accept the hand before three anbu appeared around the two and Naruto grabbed her already outstretched hand and threw her on his shoulders and took off. The anbu not expecting him to react so quickly reacted slowly, giving Naruto a good lead to his destination.

"Hold on tight" said Naruto and the girl wrapped her arms around his neck tightly before he jumped and turned to face the anbu.

"**Futon: Atsuryoku sonshō(Wind Release: Pressure Damage)" **said Naruto as he thrust his palm out and sent out a small but concentrated gust of wind. The attack forced anbu to dodge while accomplishing what Naruto really aimed for, pushing himself and his passenger faster through the city and straight towards the only place he knew they would be safe. He turned quickly in mid air before crossing his arms around his face and breaking through a window and skidding to a halt in the middle of the room. He looked forward to see the man he was looking for, the current hokage of Konoha.

"Jiji, there's some anbu after this girl" said Naruto as he set her down.

Hiruzen sighed "Naruto, that's a new student of the academy that I had assigned to meet you at the hospital but she escaped because she thought we were going to inject her with medicine." Naruto turned to the girl to see her hiding behind him, fear and embarrassment shown on her face as clear as day.

"Now, Miss Nii will you please come out from behind Naruto, there is no threat of harm of any kind towards you." Slowly the girl inched away from Naruto and stood next to him but she was still a few inches apart from him but it was better than nothing.

"Now Miss Nii, Naruto, please introduce yourselves" said Hiruzen and Naruto turned to her and spoke first.

"I'm Naruto Uzumaki, how are you?"

The girl slowly turned and looked at him before speaking "I'm Yugito Nii and I'm fine, thank you."

"Good now I would ask for you to talk more but your team placement should have already started so please Naruto take her to the academy. If there are any problems Miss Nii you know where to find me and if I am not available you may speak to Naruto. I need both of you in here after meeting your sensei please and don't worry about rushing here, take her to get something to eat first if you like." Naruto nodded his head and turned to Yugito before asking her a question.

"Can you run along the roof's well?" asked Naruto and he only got a nod in response. Naruto smiled at her causing her face to redden up a bit before she looked down instantly, confusing Naruto a bit but he brushed it off.

"Well come on then" said Naruto as he jumped through the window and a few second later Yugito took off after her. After the two left three anbu appeared in the room, all already kneeling in front of the Hokage as custom dictate.

"Report" said the aged Hokage.

"Sir, the girl was quite agile and quick for someone with little training and the boy was something else. He reacted almost the instant we landed and he used a wind jutsu to force us to disband while shooting himself into your office faster than he could run with her" said hawk masked anbu.

Hiruzen smiled a bit "Good, then there teammate will do nicely with them."

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Naruto and Yugito breathed a bit heavy as they ran through the academy and finally made it to the room and Naruto slid the door open quickly, gaining the attention of all in the class and stopping Iruka from speaking.

"Sorry Sensei, the hokage wanted me to escort a new girl here, she's here for the exams and she doesn't' have a headband either."

"I know Naruto" said Iruka before he threw a headband and Yugito who caught it and wrapped it around her neck. Naruto walked to his seat next to Sasuke to which both fist bumped each other and Yugito decided to sit right next to Naruto. The story behind Naruto and Sasuke being friends was simple, after the Uchiha massacre Sasuke was mentally unstable but Naruto had found him when he was wondering the halls and they had befriended each other there. Naruto was depressed from his treatment and Sasuke was depressed from losing his clan. Sasuke's was worse and both knew it but both had agreed there problems were something that was in the past, not the present. Sasuke remembered what Itachi said but he realized the tear he saw on Itachi's face wasn't a lie, he was crying for some reason he didn't know so that was his new mission. He was to find out what really happened that night, not what Itachi had told him because if how he acted was true then there was something more to that night. After a good talk they became good friends, they even trained a bit together since Sasuke provided Naruto with the comfort of a real friend and Naruto did the same but added a level headed person to thinking about the massacre.

"Who's the new girl?" asked Sasuke as Iruka lectured about becoming genin.

"I don't know, all I know is her name is Yugito Nii" said Naruto quietly before Iruka started to call out teams.

"Team one is…Team 7 is Sasuke Uchiha, Naruto Uzumaki and Yugito Nii with your jonin sensei being Kakashi Hatake. Sakura Haruno is assigned to special assignment at the hospital for being extremely well adapt in chakra control… and that concludes the team placements. Please wait here for your jonin sensei to arrive" said Iruka before he left the room and Naruto spoke.

"Guys get comfortable, I know this guy thanks to Jiji. He's Kakashi Hatake and he's famous for being late for anything and everything." After he spoke he put his feet on the desk and leaned back for a nap while Sasuke watched outside through the window and Yugito seemed engrossed in a scroll. They all stayed like that as teams were called out and sat there for close to three hours before the door opened to reveal a tall white haired man with his konoha headband covering his left eye.

"My first impression of you all...is you're not too bad. Meet me on the roof in five minutes" said Kakashi before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke. The three looked back at each other before getting up and walking out of the classroom and walking up the stairs leading to the roof. Kakashi was enjoying the before they sat down on the steps in front of them.

"Alright let's start off with some introductions, I'll go first so you have an idea of what to say. My name is Kakashi Hatake, I like many things and dislike things too. I have a few hobbies and my dream is something you are too young to understand. You go next whiskers."

"My name is Naruto Uzumaki, I like to train, hang out with Sasuke, learn new things, meet new people and help anyone I can. I dislike murderers and other such people, those who shun people for things past their level of understanding, bullies and the political system of all nations. My hobbies are training, helping others, tending to my garden and reading whatever strikes my interest and my dream is to create a peaceful village where all is fair and do my best to keep it that way."

"My name is Yugito Nii, I like fish, training, reading, walking around, sleeping, learning new moves and Kumo. I dislike murders and others that kill for enjoyment, people who hate things that aren't even their business, and I hate sour milk. My hobbies are sleeping, reading, training and other stuff I won't tell you. My dream is to marry a man that see's me for me and to live a happy life."

"My name is Sasuke Uchiha, I have few likes and many dislikes. My hobbies and dream is the same as Naruto's but I have a secret dream that few know about."

'_Not bad, all of them seem dedicated to being a ninja so might actually get a decent team this year' _thought Kakashi.

"Alright, I would say meet me at training ground seven tomorrow but your team is a special case. Meet me at the hokage's office in an hour. See you there" said Kakashi before he disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"So what now?" asked Yugito.

"Want to grab a bite to eat before going to the hokage's office?" asked Sasuke.

"Ramen?" asked Naruto and the others shrugged.

"Alright then, I'll lead!" said Naruto before he led them to the small ramen shack about ten minutes from the kage tower.

"Two miso please!" said Naruto as he walked in.

"One pork" said Sasuke.

"One fish please" said Yugito as they all sat down.

"So anything special you want to tell us about you?" Naruto asked Yugtio.

"Nothing I can mention here really" said Yugito, confusing the two but as the food arrived they halted any further questions. They ate in relative silence before paying the two restaurant owners and heading off to the kage tower. Once they arrived in the room Kakashi appeared behind them, activating the privacy seal on the room before Hiruzen spoke.

"Forgive the sudden act of Kakashi but I cannot waste any time, I am here to explain why you three were placed on a team together. First off, if you don't already know Yugito here is a container for the Nibi, or two tailed hell cat of Kumo while Naruto holds the Kyuubi and Sasuke is the last Uchiha member within the village. The Raikage and I came to an agreement as to unite our villages, a team with two of the jinchuuriki and a third strong member as so the other two do not drag the last member.

The deal was to send you all into basic anbu training, yes it is a bit extreme but you will be taken a little easier on than anbu recruits since you are not advanced in the ninja arts however you will grow tremendously in this program. The point is to create a strong group that will gain bonds through training and mission to strengthen the two village's ties and by using three high value members it will work in our favor.

You will train for two months while doing missions at the same time, this will allow you to train with anbu and do missions other genin teams do at the same time. If we do deem fit you will continue your anbu training at a later date but not until you have shown a certain progression in skill and completed a certain amount of higher level missions. Do you have any questions?"

"Yes, why didn't you tell us this earlier?" asked Naruto.

"We wanted Yugito to see the other genin first before we talked to you about this. Anything else?"

"Yes, when can you do that thing I asked about?" asked Naruto.

"Sometime during your training, is that all?" asked the Hokage and no one spoke.

"Very well, please follow Kakashi to your training ground where he will get you a bunk and training clothes. Good luck" said the Hokage before the kids turned and followed the jonin out.

**That's the new chapter of my rewrite of New Hope now called Brotherhood. I will not center this around assassin creed at all, I will just be naming their group Brotherhood later on so the title will represent them as a whole. Thanks for reading and please review to tell me how this was and as of now the only paring is Naruto x Hitome. **


	2. Chapter 2

Key:

"Naruto"-speaking of humans and demons in human form

'_Naruto'_-thinking of humans and demons in human form

"**Naruto"**-Demon speaking in demon form and any attacks

"_Naruto"_-Demons thinking in demon form

"_**Naruto"**_-anyone speaking through a mental link

'_To know what is right and chose to ignore it is the act of a coward'- Kakashi Hatake_

Chapter two

Naruto, Sasuke and Yugito stood in front of all the other anbu trainees. Sasuke and Yugito now donned the clothing Naruto wore but with a color change to each. Yugito wore royal purple with gold accents while Sasuke donned black with red accents, differing from Naruto's royal blue and silver. **(It's all the same as Naruto's just different color but I'll leave a link to it in my profile for those who wish to see it.)** No one dared move as a former captain and legend in anbu Kakashi Hatake walked to stand next to the three.

"Today, we will see these ninja off as they continue their endeavors outside of our group. However, even outside they will have our backing in any situation they may come across. As we always have we will serve our people and protect our own to the best of our abilities. Salute your comrades, wish them luck" said Kakashi before forty seven anbu in training saluted the three.

"In whatever endeavors you chose we will follow you to the last man standing. We wish you luck!" shouted all the men and women at once before Kakashi turned to them.

"You have been formally given the rank of genin by our kage but to us you will always and forever be anbu, our family. Dismissed!" shouted Kakashi before the three bowed then disappeared in leaf shunshin's.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The group reappeared at training ground seven just as Kakashi appeared in front of them, his anbu attire still on.

"We have a problem with a missing ninja in the area. He's only a C-rank so the hokage deemed it your level. I'll let you all do the work but if it gets to bad I'm stepping in" said Kakashi.

"With all due respect, we don't have much fighting experience on our own" said Yugito.

"True but with Naruto's suiton, your ability with fire and Sasuke's sharingan there shouldn't be any problem. Besides, I'm an A-rank ninja so my presence alone will unnerve him. Do you want to decline the offer?"

"No sir, just curious" said Yugito and Kakashi nodded his head.

"Alright, we're heading out now since the sun is just rising. He's just on the edge of the borders in a small town, doing some odd jobs as a cover. It's a few hours from here but since he's living there we shouldn't have to worry about time but let's make haste just in case so meet at the gate in one hour" said Kakashi before they took off. The three grabbed bags and a change of clothes before walking to Ezio's shop to say goodbye and grab supplies.

"Well hello you three, it's been some time. How are the clothes holding up?" asked the old man.

"Good Ezio" said Naruto as he handed him some ryo bills then walked farther into the shop.

"You don't need to pay me" said Ezio as he walked out from behind his counter and watched the three take some kuani, shuriken and ninja wire.

"It's respectful to, you gave us these clothes already and promised to train us when we got back from our first mission once we were out of anbu training. Are you still up for that?" asked Naruto.

"Of course, just let me know when and I'll teach you at your teams training grounds" said Ezio and the three nodded their heads as they left.

"See you later!" said the trio before leaving Ezio and heading to the village gate.

One hour later: Front gate

Naruto, Sasuke and Yugito stood at the front gate before Kakashi arrived next to them.

"Everything ready to go?" asked the jonin and all three nodded their heads.

"Where's your stuff then?"

"There in the storage scrolls Naruto made for us on our wrists" said Sasuke, pulling up his sleeve and gauntlet for the hidden blades to show a small circular seal.

"Just checking, since that's good let's head out. We should arrive around the time the sun sets. We'll gather information as night falls and once the moon is above we'll strike" said Kakashi. His three genin students once more nodded their heads before following the jonin sensei to the town.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The four sailed through tree's at an average pace for genin, they didn't want to waste all their energy running there before fighting the man. They quickly stopped on a tree branch when Naruto held his hand up.

"What is it?" asked Sasuke.

"Jump down and back ten feet, I'll explain there" said Naruto before he flipped backwards off the tree, the others following his movement.

Naruto threw a kunai down ten feet in front of him before speaking "That is where his sensory barrier starts. I can't sense very well but I can make the outline of it. If it's clear they have a good view of whatever is inside of it but this is really blurry, I think it's a basic sensory wall. Using a seal on him it expands his senses for anything specific in the seal, most likely it's set to anything with genin or above level chakra. Any plans?"

"How far is the town from here?" asked Yugito.

"Barely two hundred yards but it surrounded by dense forestry like this so we won't be able to see it unless were directly above it or right at it. How high does that sensory wall go?" asked Kakashi.

"Barely twenty feet above the ground, if I can use charka to jump high enough I can get over the wall and above the town to pin point him. Once I do we move for him or one other person comes with me and we lure him out. Your choice guys" said Naruto.

"Is there a lot of civilians or can you sense them from here?" asked Sasuke.

"I can barely sense inside but I can make out around twenty or so within fifty yards of one another so possible a bar. I tried to sense the man but he's out of my range unless I flare my charka which will alert him. If he's out of range he may be alone, does someone want to jump with me?"

"I'll go, I can jump pretty high" said Yugito, raising her hand.

"Alright, you two find him and radio us once you do then we'll move. Remember, no civilian casualties" said Sasuke and the other two nodded their heads. The two jinchuurki jumped from limb to limb, ascending to the top of the canopy of trees. Once they did both crouched and Yugito counted down.

"Three….Two…One…Go!"shouted the blonde girl before they both shot upwards and forward, soaring nearly forty feet above the small town. Naruto expanded his senses, feeling for the center point until he found it.

"He's on the opposite side of the town, he's resting in a hammock next to a small lake. We'll try to get him but if not we'll stall till you get there" said Naruto into the mic on his neck before they began to descend. The fell faster and faster as both pulled out a kunai intent on at least injuring the target. They were only a mere six feet from impaling the man before his eyes snapped open and he rolled off the hammock and towards the lake. The two genin cut the hammock as they landed, pieces of it flying in all directions as they stood up and readied themselves and examining the enemy. He looked moderately average, slim figure, lightly tanned skin, brown eyes and shaved head. He wore simpleton clothes, a dark green shirt and white pants stained all over along with a regular pair of wooden sandals.

"I was worries when I felt four signatures enter my sensory field but it seems you're just a bunch of kids" said the man.

"We'll prove you wrong when we'll be the ones left standing Kenshi" said Yugito as she and Naruto pulled up their scarf's to cover their face. Kensin only smirked before he leaned to the right, avoiding a kunai thrown by the shorter of the two. Then, faster than he expected, the taller one was on him with his kunai near his abdomen. Using reflexes he hadn't in years he grabbed Naruto's wrist quickly before twisting, causing him to let go of the weapon and Kenshi to take it up in his right hand. Once he let go of the boys wrist to get the kunai he felt something pierce his forearm, looking down he noticed a blade protruding from the boys wrist and out his arm.

"Why you little-" the man was cut off when Naruto turned his arm over before slamming another blade from his other arm into his shoulder and dislocating it. Kenshi screamed in pain and swung his body back around, knocking Naruto off his feet and backwards before Yugito to step in. The chunin attempted to strike Yuigto with a back fist but she easily dodged it, using her own hidden blade to cut into the man's intestines. Kenshi, flooded with adrenaline, felt nothing as he swung again but this time Yugito grabbed his fist then jumped up, connecting her foot with his chin. She didn't let go of his wrist once the attack hit, opting to stretch out and expose his full body for any attack.

That's when Sasuke appeared, slamming his fist into Kenshi's stomach to use all his momentum and strength at one time. It worked much better than intended, as Yugito let go and landed crouched on all fours Kenshi skidded a good fifteen feet into the lake. The severely injured and battered man stood slowly on the water, letting chakra keep him afloat as he tried to stop the bleeding in his stomach with his only good arm.

"You two stupid genin….How can two?...Wait, where's the oth-" His sentence was cut short once more by the same genin as Naruto's dagger sliced his head clean off before he let it fall into the storage scroll on his wrist and the body lay floating on the lake. Once the head was sealed Naruto's daggers vanished in wisps of black energy as Kakashi arrived, assessing them on how they preformed.

"That was exceptionally well for genin but for you three that could have been better. You left Sasuke alone, I may have been here but you were supposed to assume I wasn't here for this mission. Leaving him alone meant he would move through unknown territory, for all we know this whole place could have been allies to Kenshi. Your execution of attacks was well though, it was good improvising. Since he did dodge the first attack Yugito distracted him with a kunai so Naruto could get close, fight in a short close quarters battle to stall and hopefully injure which was achieved.

As Sasuke neared Yugito you stepped in, picking up where Naruto left off and injuring him more before immobilizing him for Sasuke. Sasuke, your use of charka was well thought out, most genin would have just relied on momentum and strength but using chakra gave you that extra power to push him farther back. The extra power stunned him longer, allowing Naruto to sneak up and finish the job. As you know I won't be grading you on genin scale but anbu scaling so C- since you left Sasuke alone, that was not something I was expecting to hear from you three."

Naruto bowed "Sorry sensei, I was still thinking of you being in the mission and going with Sasuke as a partner. My mistake could have cost him his life if the situation was different."

Yugito bowed as well "I apologize too, I didn't think over the plan before answering Naruto."

Kakashi nodded his head "If you realized your mistake then you earned a C+ on this mission. Put an explosive note on him Naruto, you don't leave anything behind." Naruto nodded his head, slapping a small tag on the man's back before running after his team. The seal went off mere seconds after Naruto took off, incinerating the remains.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

"Well done team 7, you're the first team to complete an assassination mission and a C rank for that matter. The funds for the mission and the bounty will be delivered to your accounts within a few hours. Dismissed."

"Hai, hokage-sama" said team 7 before walking outside the kage tower.

"Since you did so well I'll expect everyone at the training ground tomorrow and eight thirty so you can all sleep in a bit. You deserve it after your first none patrol mission" said Kakashi before he disappeared in a cloud of smoke.

"So what now?" asked Yugito.

"Let's go to that nice restaurant that opened up yesterday" said Sasuke and the others agreed.

"Sounds good" said Naruto and Yugito before they all went to the Uchiha district. All three opted to live in the same area to be more of a team in a sense. Sasuke kept his old room while Yugito and Naruto took up guest bedrooms, deciding to leave the ones for Itachi and Sasuke's parents alone. All three quickly changed into more formal wear, Naruto and Sasuke waiting outside the house for Yugito around seven at night.

"You don't look half bad" joked Sasuke as he looked at Naruto's attire. He had on a totally black outfit, his three button suit jacket, vest, dress shirt, tie, dress pants, socks and shoes.

Naruto chuckled "Neither do you, Sasuke." Sasuke wore a three button black suit jacket, red dress shirt, black tie, black dress pants, black socks and dress shoes to match.

"You boys didn't try to hard, did you?" asked Yugito as she walked up to them, both speechless. She had on a royal purple single strap dress, the strap on her right shoulder with a slit on the bottom left side to provide maneuverability. She had picked out two ½ inch tall black heels with straps going around her ankle, mid foot then connected to the close toed end. The blonde also applied a small amount of red lipstick on to brighten them up a bit since they were going out.

"You look stunning" said Naruto causing Yugito to blush, brushing her now free flowing hair behind her right ear.

"T-thanks, Naruto-kun" said Yugito. Sasuke noticed the brief exchange and smirked to himself before turning on his heels.

"Let's go love birds" said Sasuke as he began to walk.

"Shut it, Uchiha" said Naruto as he and Yugito caught up to him. They walked in relative silence through the streets, taking turns down dark alley ways to get there the fastest way. They held no fear for what lurked in the dark, Naruto had lived in this area for years as a kid. No one dared harm anyone associated with him or incur the wrath of everyone living in the red light district. He even came back every so often to help feed those who didn't have the skills to steal food, the energy to do so. A cloaked figure dropped down in front of them the stood, showing to be just an inch shorter than Yugito and female by how the cloak looked in front.

"What is it Akahana?" asked Naruto as he stepped forward. The women removed her hood, revealing deep red hair that fell to the middle of her back while her amber eyes flicked to everyone, lingering on Sasuke a bit longer than the others. The Uchiha blushed slightly, the girl was beautiful in every right, no she was downright gorgeous to him.

"Ezio has asked I report to you from now on, he believes it best we get to know one another well as I am the head of his spy organization. I am to deliver news, it seems the chunin had friends in some high places. Gato and two swordsmen stopped by the village, ransacking it while asking for Kenshi. I don't think he was high ranking but just knew something about Gato, I'd be wary of the man if you ever go near where he operates. They spoke of talking to Zabuza of the seven swordsmen along with the demon brothers of Mizu."

"I see, thank you Akahana. I hope to hear from you soon" said Naruto and Akahana bowed, once more her gaze lingered on Sasuke before she disappeared into the shadows.

Naruto turned to Sasuke, a large grin on his face "You liiiiiiiike each other."

The Uchiha glared, a slight blush forming "Stuff it, Uzumaki." Naruto only laughed before they started walking again, Naruto nodding his head to a few individuals slumped against one of the alley walls. After nearly thirty minutes of walking they arrived at a large two story restaurant called The Dragon, the owners name was Ryu so he only thought it appropriate to name it as such. Sasuke walked in first then spoke to the host.

"Table for three in the VIP section" said Sasuke and the host looked over the three. Each flashed their ninja id's before he nodded his head then spoke.

"Excuse me for being cautious, you three are the only non-anbu members allowed their" said the host as he turned and walked through the restaurant. The crowd of people mostly ignored the three but whispers seemed to travel once they saw Naruto. The man led them up a flight of stairs before walking through the dining floor to an area blocked by curtains.

"Your table awaits, there is currently no one occupying this area tonight. Enjoy your-"

"What the hell are you doing allowing that _thing _and his friends in their?" asked a customer as he stood, a few others at his table standing with them. All three obviously were civilians by how they carried themselves but their actions caused the floor to go silent.

"These are highly valued customers, they have earned the right to eat in the VIP area. If you have a problem with that then kindly keep it to yourself" said the host as he stood in front of the three kids.

"Get this trash out of here, if not it'll ruin your business. I don't think many would take kindly knowing that comes here" said the man that had originally spoke.

"Does anyone else have a problem with these children eating here?" asked the host to the floor. No one spoke at first until a lady in her late twenties stood up.

"I don't see the problem, if they let him in there then he's got to be alright." The man that spoke didn't take kindly to that, he picked up an empty glass at his table before throwing it at her. It stopped a good foot away from her as a new man now stood in front of the woman, holding the glass. Quicker than many in the floor could follow the host knocked all three men unconscious with a swift neck chop.

"Thank you for the help Asuma" said the host as a woman from earlier walked up to the three genin.

"You guys go inside, there's no point in staying out here."

"Will do Kurenai-sensei, have a good night" said Naruto as he bowed before the three walked inside the secluded area. Inside was a large dining area filled with a multitude of tables, a bar and a lounge area that had a couch and two adjacent chairs with a glass coffee table sitting in the middle. Naruto, Yugito and Sasuke sat at the table closest to the window that overlooked the village.

"What is it you wish to order?"asked a waiter who walked inside the area.

"I'll have filet mignon with a side of mashed potatoes and a nice Bordeaux" said Naruto.

"Pan seared salmon with lemon sauce, a side of asparagus and a glass of Chablis" said Yugito.

"I would like the salt roasted chicken with your best Rhine" said Sasuke. The waiter finished marking down what they ordered before bowing and leaving them alone.

"It's nice to order some dishes like this, I've never been in such a nice place" said Naruto as he unbuttoned his jacket, Sasuke following Naruto's action. Yugito used her right hand to brush the hair from behind her back and rest on her right shoulder before running her fingers through it.

"I wonder if we'll be going on any other mission soon?" asked Yugito as she combed her fingers through her hair.

"Probably not for a bit, he most likely will be training us or letting us train on our own for a bit. Unless we do some D rank missions" said Sasuke.

"He better not, I hated those things" said Naruto before the waiter arrived with their food. All three ate in relative silence, only speaking to pass some kind of seasoning on the table.

"So, what now?" asked Naruto as he wiped his mouth with his napkin after finish off the rest of his wine, the other two following suit a few seconds later.

"Let's just head home for now, we need some sleep since were training tomorrow" said Sasuke before they all stood. Both Naruto and Sasuke buttoned up the first two buttons on their jackets while Yugito repositioned her hair to behind her back. As they walked out Naruto held the curtain for Sasuke who bowed his head as thanks and Yugito smiled at him before he took his spot walking behind her. The three stopped by the host, and held out ryo bills for him.

"Are you paying here?" asked the host.

"No, we left that on the table. This is your tip" said Naruto as they set down the bills on his podium.

"Thank you, you three. I assume we will see you soon?"

"Possibly, maybe once a week if we can" said Sasuke as he held the door for his teammates to leave before letting it go and walking after them.

"I wonder if we'll encounter that Gato fellow" mused Naruto as they walked into the Uchiha compound.

"Possibly, I heard he had some deal with Wave country which isn't too far from here" said Sasuke.

"For now I plan to go to sleep, you two can go look for him if you want" said Yugito as Naruto opened the door for her and Sasuke then shut it quietly. They took off their shoes right at the walk in area before standing in the kitchen, sleep starting to affect them.

*Yawn* "Alright, good night you two. See you at the training grounds" said Naruto before they separated, going into separate rooms.

Next day

The three walked side by side into the training ground, seeing Ezio and Kakashi standing near the lake.

"Is there something wrong?" asked Naruto as they approached the two. Ezio usually was at his shop or at his house, he rarely ventured far unless he was to sit and talk with the hokage from time to time.

"No Naruto, Ezio is here to train you all. I will be here to watch and see what you learned firsthand" said Kakashi as he took out his book before opening it to whatever page he was on.

"Walk with me to the forest beside us please" said Ezio as he slowly walked over, the others walking with him until they were close to a quarter of a mile in.

"I will be teaching you how to blend in with your surroundings the way I learned, using chakra as a cloak to conceal you. The shadows are the easiest as it's just a base shade, no mix of colors" said Ezio as he walked towards a dark corner where a multitude of trees were at. He walked forward then faced the others and disappeared when the shadows engulfed him. The three genin were shocked when they saw what happened and even Kakashi was impressed. He'd only seen a few ninja with the knowledge of that, two being sanin and a few others men he met during some anbu missions.

"I'm sure your sensei has seen this but it's called **Meisaigakure no Jutsu(Hiding with camoflauge jutsu.) **More specifically it's an advanced version of it, not only reflecting light and dispersing your scent but blending in with the surround colors completely. Once you've been able to do this in all terrain you can move up a level, adding a second layer of chakra to throw off any doujutus users. However, I believe only Jiraiya, Orochimaru and myself can erase our chakra signatures using the second layer so don't get your hopes up. Now, to perform this it requires only the tiger hand seal for beginners. Once you do that mold your chakra and try to form it around you, doing that will cause your body to blend in."

Naruto was the first to try it, using the hand seal before trying to mold his chakra around him. Parts of him seemed to shimmer and disappear but only for a moment before he returned to normal.

"If you would have waited I moment I would have said to form a dome around you. Hold that dome and the charka will blend in, concealing your whole body. For now try to use it where I am, or in the darker parts of the woods. You can look around but don't be picky, in a real life situation you won't have time to be picky. Now go, come back if you need help or you think you've got the shadow blend down" said Ezio. The three separated, finding dark areas of the forest to blend in or well try to. Yugito seemed to get closer and closer to getting her whole body to blend in while Sasuke was irregular, not keeping a steady pattern. Something was off though, both lost track of Naruto for a moment.

"Your pretty good but you still make too much noise" said Kakashi as he and Ezio turned and Naruto's form shimmered into existence a few feet behind them.

"I figured as much" said Naruto.

"How did you get it so fast?" asked Ezio, even he took a little while longer than him to get the first camouflage section down.

"I'm a sensor, cloaking chakra around me is really easy to do. All I needed to do was condense it rather than stretch it out to find another signature" said the blonde Uzumaki as Yugito and Sasuke appeared next to him in a burst of speed.

"Lucky you but we've got the shadow part" said Sasuke as he and Yugito walked into the dark corner of trees before disappearing from sight then reappearing moments later in the same place.

"Thanks guys, I'll help you out if you want me to" said Naruto to his teammates but their response was halted when an anbu appeared next to Kakashi and Ezio.

"Taicho" said the anbu as he addressed Kakashi and he turned to Ezio "Assassin." Ezio nodded his head to the anbu and the anbu nodded back before addressing Kakashi.

"Hokage-sama has a mission for your team only, it is of high importance. The actress Yukie Fujikaze is in a town three miles north east of here, they have sent request for a team of bodyguards immediately. Hokage-sama has asked you leave once your things are packed and ready, no notification or follow up meeting required before dispatching."

"Thank you, dismissed" said the former anbu captain before the anbu disappeared in a swirl of leaves and Kakashi turned to his students.

"Prepare for a week long mission, we leave in twenty minutes."

All three saluted "Hai, taicho!" and they disappeared in bursts of speed.

"I hope you can monitor their training until they master the first stage. Notify me once they have, we will go from there" said Ezio before he began to walk away and Kakashi disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Naruto, Sasuke and Yugito stood at the front gates, their gear sealed away in seals on their wrists. A few minutes after they waited Kakashi arrived, sliding a scroll into the many pockets on his flat jacket.

"I assume you're all ready to go so we'll head out. Let's hurry, I don't know if she's in immediate danger or not" said Kakashi before he took off, his students trailing behind him.

**Well that's chapter two of Brotherhood, I hope it's up to par. I'll try to update more often but no promises :D. Have a great day everyone!**


	3. Chapter 3

Key:

"Naruto"-speaking of humans and demons in human form

'_Naruto'_-thinking of humans and demons in human form

"**Naruto"**-Demon speaking in demon form and any attacks

"_Naruto"_-Demons thinking in demon form

"_**Naruto"**_-anyone speaking through a mental link

'_We don't know what kind of people we are until the moment before our deaths. As death comes to embrace you, you will realize what you are. That's what death is, don't you think?' _–Itachi Uchiha

Chapter 3

Team seven moved quickly through the trees as they neared the small town where their client was at.

"My clone met with Sandayu, Yukie ran off and they can't find her. We're going in blind right now, move quick and quietly" said Kakashi. All three nodded their heads before separating, Naruto going straight, Kakashi taking a hard left, Yugito going left between Naruto and Kakashi while Sasuke went right.

"You can run but you can't hide" said Naruto before took off at speeds he rarely used towards a river near the town. In less than a few minutes he landed next to Yukie, prompting the now startled horse to turn tail and run off, leaving Yukie alone.

'_Dammit, the one time I run farther than usual is the time some ninja comes after me' _thought Yukie.

"W-who are you?" asked Yukie in a shaky voice while trying her best to glare at the hooded figure. Naruto pulled down his scarf and removed his hood, showing his ocean blue eyes and black slit pupils, signifying he was using a minute portion of his bijuu's chakra.

"I'm Naruto, my team was hired to keep watch over you and make sure you stay safe. I apologize for scaring you." Yukie's fear was replaced with anger as she stood up and looked down on the shorter blonde.

"Just what kind of thoughts went through your head when you did that? You scared me half to death, I assumed you were some killer!"

"I am" responded Naruto making Yukie miss a beat, her eyes noticing the slight frown and how his eyes seemed to dull a bit before he regained his stoic look.

Yukie sighed and crossed her arms with a huff "Look, just take me back. No point in trying to outrun or outsmart you ninja, I'd just be wasting my breath."

Naruto nodded his head "Thank you, now hold on tight."

"Hold on tight to whAAAH!" Yukie screamed when Naruto bent down a bit, placed her waist on his shoulder before taking off into the air. She started to scream more when she felt them falling but noticed they bobbed back up. She saw Naruto was jumping from tree to tree before switching to roof tops. She actually enjoyed this quite a bit, not that she would admit it out loud, but she could see the sun just above the neighboring mountains in the clear blue sky. It was a much prettier sight being so high up however it was short lived when they landed back at the studio and she was set down.

"Don't do that again without asking" said Yukie as she glared at Naruto who looked back at her with an impassive stare.

"Would you like to accompany me on a stroll on the rooftop on my shoulder?" asked Naruto and Yukie's face flushed red.

"N-no!"

Naruto shrugged "I asked and I got rejected, maybe I'll ask something more personal next time."

Yukie looked at him curiously as Sandayuu and the rest of Naruto's group walked up to them.

"Like what?" asked Yukie.

"Want to go out on a date?" The blush on Yukie's face intensified when he asked that and she glared at him as best she could.

"No!"

"Alas, t'was never meant to be between the star crossed lovers" said Sasuke sarcastically making everyone but Yukie chuckled a bit.

"You are all insufferable" said Yukie before she huffed and turned on her heels, walking off while Sandayu followed behind her.

"This may be more interesting than I thought" said Naruto.

"Because you can flirt shamelessly with an older woman?" asked Yugito, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"Your just jealous" said Sasuke and Kakashi nodded his head in agreement.

"Am not!" shouted Yugito, stomping her foot on the ground.

"Are too!" shouted a random crew member that had watched the whole thing making Yugito huff and turn around, cross her arms and stick her head up.

"Consol your girl" said another worker with a chuckle as he walked by prompting Yugito to turn and yell at all of them but Naruto spoke first.

"Leave her be you guys, we've done enough" said Naruto, prompting everyone to stop and Yugito to calm down.

"Let's get a check of everyone around here" said Kakashi and they spread out, walking off in different directions. Each silently moved through the mass of crew members and actors alike, doing their best to remember distinct features of each person they pass by before meeting back up when Kakashi sent a quick burst of chakra out. The three genin met back up with their sensei to see him standing next to Sandayu and the director.

"She's missing again, Naruto" said Kakashi as he still focused on his book, knowing his genin could easily find her.

The Uzumaki sighed "Follow me." Team seven plus Sandayu walked a quarter mile away from the set to a small bar near the docks. Naruto walked in first and stood next to a buzzed Yukie finishing of a sake glass.

"You know, when I asked you on a date this wasn't my ideal setting" said Naruto. He only got a chuckle as she downed the remnants of the alcoholic beverage and turned to him.

"Maybe another time kid" said Yukie.

"Miss Fujikaze! We have to get on the boat soon!" said Sandayu.

"Whatever, I don't care about that stupid movie and I don't care about the land of snow."

"Or the land your father died on? The land ruled by the man who killed your own flesh and blood?" asked Naruto and Yukie moved quickly for her drunken state, but not quick enough. She swung her right hand out to smack him but Naruto quickly stopped it with his left hand causing the two to make eye contact. She seemed frozen while she looked into his now blood red eyes, the black slit thinning as he opened his half lidded eyes a bit more.

"**Kitsune no sakkaku: Eien no nemuri(Kistune illusion: Eternal sleep)" **said Naruto before Yukie's eyes slowly closed and she fell forward. Naruto tossed her over his shoulder and walked off towards the boat, his group behind him. They got on the wooden boat and Naruto set her in her room before meeting up with his team in their own room under the deck.

"Get some sleep, you'll need it watching her" said Kakashi before he shut the door and they went to their separate beds to rest.

Next day

Yugito watched Yukie act with interest while Sasuke peaked at Kakashi's book and Naruto seemed to be fishing off the side of the boat.

"She's an amazing actor" said Yugito as they stopped to change scenes.

"This book is amazing" said Sasuke and Kakashi.

"This fishing spot sucks" said Naruto causing the crew to turn at him.

"We have food here" said the director.

"So? I want some fresh fish" said Naruto before the rod bend down at an angle most thought would snap the fishing rod. Naruto planed his feet on the rail of the boat and channeled chakra to his arms and legs as he pulled with all his might. Kakashi felt uneasy when he watched Naruto do that prompting him to put his book in his back pocket. His suspicions were confirmed when Naruto pulled the pole hard and a large fish easily measuring more than four feet jumped out of the water and into the air.

Naruto turned to his head to his team in what seemed like slow motion "Kill it!" Kakashi moved on instinct, throwing a kunai so fast that the handle was the only thing still in the fish as Naruto pulled it into the boat.

"Can I have some? Asked Yugito over his shoulder and Naruto sighed, handing her the fish.

"I'll just catch more, anyone else want fresh fish?" asked Naruto and most of the occupants on the boat raised their hands. For the next few hours the shot different scenes for the movie while Naruto and Sasuke worked on catching fish, Naruto hooking it and Sasuke killing it. They would have caught more but about ten hours from the port they came across a large ice berg, a great spot to shoot is what the director said. From other points of view it was odd and out of place but no one argued, getting all the equipment set up while the actors got into places. Yukie and a few other co-stars stood at the bottom of a steep hill while an older man stood on top, the villain of the movie looking down on the hero's.

Just as the older man moved to speak the glacier face behind him exploded partially before three people revealed themselves.

"Nadare Roga, Fubuki Kakuyoku and Mizore Fuyukuma" said Kakashi.

"Been some time Kakashi-san" said Mizore before he threw a kunai at him. Kakashi summoned his anbu tanto and swung it, cutting the small projectile in half, never moving an inch from his spot making Nadare frown.

"Be careful, this isn't the Kakashi we saw last time" said Nadare.

"How so?" asked Fubuki. Why would they need to worry about when they had their improved chakra armor on?

"The one we fought was a man trying to leave anbu, his drive was next to nothing as he did solo S-rank missions alone. This man has kids to protect and he seems to have trained quite a bit sense then, after all he put enough force into his swing to slice a kunai in half. So as I said be careful, he won't be as easy to dismiss as he was all those years ago" said Nadare. The two didn't fully believe him but Nadare's suspicions were confirmed when he suddenly jumped back to avoid a down swing from the white haired man. The speed in that attack alone showed he wasn't playing games, even his headband was lifted up to reveal his sharingan.

"I guess he was right" said Mizore when Kakashi took off after Nadare and the two remaining snow ninja looked down on Yukie.

"Long time no see princess, let's have a chat elsewhere" said Fubuki as she disappeared in a burst of speed. She had moved straight at the actress but was forced to slide right when the dark haired boy appeared in front of her target with a kunai.

"Move it kid" said the girl as the blonde from their team appeared next to him and both pulled their hoods over their heads and pulled their scarf's up, showing the konoha sign sewn on the front. Naruto's target was a bit different, he didn't run at them but pulled out an odd red board before it shot him off down the slope.

Naruto began to weave hand signs but stopped when a voice spoke _**"Don't use your suiton right now, you may need it as a surprise later on. Take a bit of chakra, just make it seem like your taijutsu based for now."**_

"_**Alright, thank you Hitome" **_responded Naruto before he felt a small surge of bijuu chakra flood his coils, giving him his usual enhanced strength and speed. Mizore didn't understand what hit him, one second he was a good twenty feet from the blonde and the next he was kicked in the gut by said blonde into the snowy hill. The hulking man slowly stood, rubbing his stomach, feeling a few broken ribs as he did.

"You….." murmured Mizore as Naruto moved to stand between him and Yukie.

"What?"

"You stupid brat!" shouted the man before he ran at Naruto, using chakra to enhance his speed a bit. However, Naruto easily read his movements and was already in action when he saw Mizore charge. The brute once more was dumbfounded, he noticed Naruto move and swung wildly at his face, hoping it connected. It did connect just not to what he expected. The blonde had caught his metal right hand with ease before shattering the device with a single punch. Mizore tried to make a one handed seal to shoot off a close range ice jutsu but he was stopped dead when a foot shattered his nose and pushed him back fifteen feet. He gripped his nose to help stop the blood flow and looked up to see another cloaked figure next to the boy with the sharingan, perfect.

"Switch out" said Sasuke and Naruto nodded his head, putting his hood on and pulling his scarf on before disappearing in a burst of speed.

"Your partner wasn't too tough" said Sasuke, taunting the man. He only got a growl as a response before the Uchiha's opponent moved.

With Yugito

"Stop moving you idiotic girl!" shouted Fubuki, shooting off a number of small ice techniques. She had attempted to encase the boy in ice only for him to blow up, tie her to her own ice pillars and sent fire down the wire holding her. The wings on her back helped her get out but now she faced off just the girl, both shooting off small jutsu to take out one another.

"She's not an idiot, you are" said a voice behind her before she felt someone grab her wings and pull, guiding her and whoever was on the back straight into the ground. Thinking quickly she retracted the wings and spun to land on her feet as her opponent did the same. Except when they hit the ground whoever had hold of her jumped backwards to land next to the girl.

"Sasuke taking care of the big guy?" asked Yugito.

"Yeah, how's life over here?"

"Cold, the view is horrible with this annoying fly buzzing around me here" said Yugito, motioning to Fubuki.

"Why you little-"

"Excuse you, we're talking" said Naruto before he heard someone shout from behind.

"Princess! We need to go!" shouted Sandayu. Naruto turned his head to see Yukie fall to her knees before screaming.

"No! I don't want to go back to that place! They'll just kill us all!"

"_**I believe it is time to leave, turn around" **_said Hitome and Naruto did just that. He saw a giant whale like being of ice erupt from the water and sensed another just like it behind him.

"Grab Sandayu, tell Sasuke to get Yukie. I'll meet you at the boat" said Naruto as he pulled a few sealing tags from his pocket.

"But-"

"I promise I'll meet you there, now go. I can't let you get caught up in this" said Naruto. Yugito nodded her head, hesitated before moving. She signaled for Sasuke who jumped back and took off with Yugito, both Mizore and Fubuki moving after them. They were forced to jump left as the massive creatures destroyed a majority of the ice berg but they tensed when Naruto dropped down in front of them.

"**Hello children, enjoy my little present" **said Hitome as she possessed Naruto. She weaved a few hand signs before paper began to fall all around them.

"What is this?" asked Mizore, grabbing a piece and seeing both sides completely empty. Then they began to glow bright red.

"**Fuinjutsu: Amegafuru jigoku(Sealing Art: Raining Hell!)" **spoke Naruto in a dark voice before he simply vanished and the nearly two hundred tags falling down on the remnants of the ice berg exploded.

With Kakashi 

He had arrived at the boat just as his team did, however he did notice Naruto was missing.

"Where is he?" asked Kakashi, his tone he used when in anbu coming back. The strict and cold words caused both to stiffen.

"He…..he said he was going to meet us here" said Yugito, using all of her willpower to keep eye contact. Kakashi turned on his feet to go back to where he used to be but his eyes widened when the remaining chunks of ice exploded and Naruto appeared in front of him in such a manner only one word came out of his mouth.

"Hiraishin" and his response was those bright red eyes to gleem as the possessed Naruto put a finger to his lips.

"**Speak nothing of what you saw"** said Hitome through Naruto before his eyes reverted to their original state and he passed out, Kakashi quickly catching him before he fell.

"Everyone, take a break and rest up until we get to the port. You two need to sleep, take Naruto to his room while I check on the crew" said Kakashi as he handed Naruto to Sasuke before the two retired for the day.

In Naruto's mindscape

Naruto sat down on a large couch, sipping some tea as Hitome laid her head on his shoulder. Both enjoyed the silence before the door to the house opened and in walked someone he hadn't talked to in some time.

"Hello sir Rajak, what brings you here?" asked Hitome as she stood, pouring him a glass and handing it too him. The man took the glass, nodded his head in thanks before sitting down on the couch opposite to the one Hitome sat back down on.

"It is time we told him of your findings Miss Hitome" said Rajak before removing the black cloth mask covering his nose and face to sip his tea.

"Which is?" asked Naruto, turning to the woman next to him.

"I looked into your genetic make-up, it seems you acquired not only the second's affinity for water but his other jutsu's as well. The hiraishin being one, a few others being an adapt knowledge of sealing but as an Uzumaki it would be easy as well. However, another interesting thing I found in your chakra affinity was with your high aptitude for wind mixed with your abilities with water it allows you to…well…"

"I have the ability to wield ice ninjutsu" said Naruto in surprise.

"Correct, seeing how ice jutsu worked up close just confirmed my theory. You would have the power to create any ice jutsu one with the bloodline can, your high affinity for wind and water will make it less chakra draining as well. We can practice that in here as well as what Rajak has come for too.

"I want you to get more familiar with the daggers you use, there are many things you are blind too. We will delve slightly into it today so you can know the basics of each that way you can practice when you have time in the real world."

Naruto smiled brightly and stood up "What are we waiting for then? Let's get to it!" Hitome grinned, showing her elongated canines and Rajak smiled a bit as he followed the two outside the house to train.

Real world

Team seven plus Sandayu, the director and his assistant all sat down in a meeting room at the port where the ship stopped.

"I think it's time you told us what's going on" said the director to Sandayu who sighed and spoke.

"I am….was an advisor for the previous leader of the land of snow before Doto killed him. I am here to bring princess Koyuki Kazehana back home so she can reclaim the land from that vile man" said Sandayu.

"I suspected as much but kept my mouth shut, it was forbidden by the hokage to speak her name unless you knew for sure it was her. After all, if she's in hiding from a village it was best they never get wind anyone spoke that name out loud. So, I take it this is why you hired us huh?" asked Kakashi.

"Yes, I knew konoha ninja, specifically the famed Kakashi would be best for this mission. I understand if you wish to leave me here" said Sandayu and the director laughed.

"And miss the chance to film with a real princess? As if! As long as I get my shots I'll help whenever I can, just don't let my people get caught in the crossfire" said the director and Sandayu nodded his head.

"And you, ?" asked the director.

"We'll stay, I need to finish what I started. That and it will be good experience for you three."

"What? Going into an A-rank mission as new genin?" asked Sasuke.

"You're more powerful than new genin and you all showed you can hold your own against their best. It should go relatively well, just don't play with them from now on" said Kakashi and all three looked everywhere but him.

"You're all a bunch of fools, thinking you can take on Doto and his army" said Koyuki as she leaned on the frame of the door.

"You're a fool for thinking that some second rate villain with a pitiful excuse for elite soldiers would stop us" said Yugito.

"Don't mind her, she's just upset our date didn't go as planned" said Naruto as he closed his eyes, leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms.

"We never went on one yet, you idiot!" shouted Koyuki as her face turned red.

Naruto peaked an eye open and smiled a bit "Yet, my dear. I see you did plan on going out to one with me in the future." The princess looked like a deer caught in headlights before she growled at him then turned heel and stomped off causing the room to light up in laughter.

"Not bad Naruto-san" said the director's assistant.

"Thanks, I'm enjoying it."

"A little too much" mumbled Yugito but Sasuke caught it.

"Someone's a little upset she didn't get asked" said the Uchiha and Yuigto glared at him.

"I'll rip you to shreds!" shouted Yugito as she jumped over Naruto and tackled Sasuke, the two fighting for dominance causing the occupants to laugh once more at the sight.

Doto's stronghold

"It seems Kakashi will make this much harder" said Doto, looking down at Nadare's missing arm.

"He's nothing like he was before, the intel we had said he was a lazy jonin for nearly six years until he took this team up a few months ago. In those few months we've gathered he took them to the forest of death in Konoha, the training ground for anbu. Those three kids have power beyond that of a genin, their skill is unknown at the moment. They had only gotten the drop on us because we underestimated their skill, it won't happen again sir" said Nadare.

"I would hope not, my two best ninja besides you are being treated for severe burns covering their entire bodies because of that explosion. We need to watch more for the caster of that jutsu, it had the ability to easily go through the chakra barrier your armor creates. Now, get the others ready. We'll head off by train to cut them off."

The next day- Noon

"Sir, the princess took off again!" said the directors assistant to Kakashi who sighed.

"Naruto, hunt her down. We'll be at the other end of these tracks past the cave" said Kakashi.

"You won't send anyone else?" asked Sandayu.

"Naruto can sense more than any of us here. It would be useless to send anyone else, besides with the threat of Doto I want them here to protect you all." Sandayu has no place to argue but still seemed upset when Naruto stopped at the edge of the cliff.

"Found her, she just fell. Be back in a few" said Naruto before he took off in a burst of speed. He flew through the trees towards his target, noticing the light snowfall that pelted his face. In response he pulled his hood and scarf up before falling to the ground directly behind her.

"If you wanted to take a stroll you could have told me" said Naruto looking at Koyuki lying unconscious in the snow. He tossed her on her back and began his trek back up the hillside and through the tunnel. Half way through she began to stir on his back, yawning and looking around her before sighing.

"Of course, I should have known you'd find me."

"You owe me a date, I can't let a princess that owes me a date run off now can I?"

Koyuki chuckled dryly "I guess so…. You do know I'll just keep running."

"You know I'll keep finding you. It's impossible for you to run far enough to where I can't find you princess."

"I wouldn't be so sure, technology is a magical thing" said Koyuki before both of them noticed the train lines suddenly appear.

"Chakra…..someone's running chakra along it to dry the ice" said Naruto making the princesses eyes widen.

"You mean….." She let the sentence drop when her fear was confirmed by a train whistle traveling through the tunnel.

"Fantastic, hang on tight" said Naruto before he took off at frightening speeds to Koyuki. She had never seen him move this fast with her on, this was much faster than the first time he had caught her but when she turned around she knew it wasn't enough. The train had closed in on them faster than she expected and now it was within a few feet of touching her.

"Naruto, you can't outrun a train!"

"Is that a bet?" said Naruto much too calmly.

"If you did I'd take up your offer for that date. Just try and squeeze between the side or something."

"Hold on tighter" said Naruto and she did just that before she felt him speed up.

"We're not dying here, you're not dying here! You're going to save this country if it's the last thing I do!" shouted Naruto, moving faster and faster as he channeled Hitome's chakra for an added boost in speed. Koyuki remained in shocked silence as he outran the train and jumped right as soon as they got past the tunnel. The actress let go of him and fell on her side as Naruto slid across the snow a bit before taking up a defensive stance between her and the train.

"Hello princess Koyuki, it's been some time since I've seen your face" said Doto through a mic as he stood atop his train with Nadare next to him. She gave no response as fear set in, keeping her from moving but Naruto turned his head to her, his scarf lowered.

"I won't let him touch you" said Naruto with a smile making Doto laugh.

"You can't even protect yourself boy, don't tell lies to others." Naruto would have responded but he was cut off when a small band of samurai appeared on a hill to his left, Sandayu leading the charge.

"We have come here to end your reign Doto! You will fall today!" shouted Sandayu as he raised his sword then charged down the hill and at the train, the others following suit.

"Stop, you fools!" shouted Kakashi but it was too late. The wooden boxes connecting to the head of the train opened up, revealing a grid of holes along with small turrets manned by ninja. They took aim at the samurai before Doto spoke only one word.

"Fire" and in that instance hundreds of kunai were shot at the small group of barely twenty, littering their bodies with the small projectiles. Everyone stood motionless, watching the massacre of the men before wood fell down the other cliff side, slamming into the train. That was the cue for the driver to take off, getting the train to start its forward motion. It had made it a good quarter mile before explosives went off, sending snow all over the second cart to the end. The snow only succeeded in making them leave the rest of the train so the front could escape. Kakashi returned to the scene where everyone was now moved towards an open area beside a cliff to tend to the bodies. He helped some carrier Sandayu to where his team and Koyuki now stood.

Koyuki moved to stand next to him as they set him down on the ground.

"Princess….. I beg of you please….your rightful place as ruler of this country…..Watching my, no our, people cry because of this is heartbreaking…..they need a savior…..they need their princess back…Now don't cry….for I will be in a better place" with his final words Sandayu passed. His body going limp, causing him to drop the case of eye drops for Koyuki.

"You fool…I can't cry…You have my eye drops" said the princess softly. Team seven said nothing at those words, nor did anyone else as Sandayu was carried off.

"You truly are nothing but a spoiled child with no sight of a bigger picture" said Naruto now that it was just him and her.

"Excuse me?" growled out Koyuki as she turned to him.

"You heard me, _princess" _spat out Naruto.

"You know nothing of what I've been through!" shouted Koyuki as she stood up, looking down on him.

"I have had nothing to begin with, no friends, no one to call family. I have had to live not knowing if I was going to eat that day, not knowing if my apartment was ransacked that day. I have had to walk the streets with the fear that the entire population around me would do anything to me, wondering if I would ever have anyone close to me in my life. You have had everything from the beginning before you lost your father. Once you did you once again got everything as an actress, and chose to tarnish his name by refusing to reclaim your throne. Your people have suffered and died for you and what do you do for them? Nothing, they have never given up hope on you and you have lived your life a thousand miles away to forget they even exist. What a pitiful life you lead, _princess" _said Naruto.

Everyone around had stopped now, listing to the blondes words and even Koyuki was left speechless. Everything he said was true, she had no room to argue. However, her shock was replaced with fear when ninja wire wrapped around her and she was dragged across the ground. She held her hand out to Naruto who jumped to grab her but missed by just a few inches before she was pulled into the blimp flying above them.

"I'll be back in a minute" said Naruto before he pulled out a kunai attached to a rope. He channeled chakra to his arm before tossing the kunai, having it slam into the metal walkway on the side of the massive flying ship.

With Koyuki 

"It is an honor to have the princess and the gale with us today" said Doto, talking to Koyuki who sat on a couch near the glass window of the air ship. She wasn't focused on what he was saying, she was replaying what Naruto had told her. Maybe he was right, maybe she needed to stand up for the people who loved her and fight for them. She was pulled out of her thoughts when she noticed Doto looking at her expectantly.

"You have the crystal don't you?" asked Doto before she took off her necklace and threw it at him. He smiled, examining the crystal before frowning and crushing it in his hands.

"You think I don't know when it's fake!" shouted Doto.

"Fake?! How could it be fake?... Kakashi" whispered Koyuki and Doto understood what happened.

"I would expect him to do that, he wasn't an anbu captain for just his power" said Doto. Koyuki frowned and turned back to the glass.

"Now now, look at me princess" said Doto, moving his hand to her chin. He never touched her because he was forced to jump back when a body fell down from the top, a kunai sticking out of his head. Suddenly his door burst open and he saw one of his guards fall with Naruto on top. Doto was shocked, not at his guard being killed but the ruthless way he was killed. The blonde ripped his hand out of the guard's throat and stood, his blood red eyes gleaming.

"I told you, I wouldn't let him lay a hand on you" said Naruto.

"Not bad boy, not bad at all. However, this is the wrong place to challenge me" said Doto before Mizore jumped down from the rails above. Naruto showed no signs of worry as he faced off with the burly man and the woman appeared, their burned bodies looked so fragile. Then he smirked, his elongated canines and red eyes unnerving the ninja and scaring Koyuki.

"Now this is something I can enjoy" said Naruto before he moved quicker than expected, falling on the ground in a pushup position before kicking Fubuki in the stomach. The attack caused her to slam into the wall behind her but Naruto didn't stop there, he rolled to the side to avoid Mizore's foot. The man moved his other foot to step on him but Naruto held both hands up, stopping the attack and pushing it upwards. The power behind his arms caused Mizore to stumble backwards which allowed Naruto to quickly get up and slide into his stance.

"That it?" asked Naruto and he soon regretted it. It was then Doto moved at him much quicker than the blonde had prepared for, in all honesty the blonde wasn't expecting the man to even interfere. Naruto was very wrong, Doto slammed his fist into his stomach. The chakra added to it rocketed the blonde into the wall, nearly knocking him unconscious. Koyuki went to stand up but a look from Naruto stopped her, it was a quick shake of his head but she saw it and stayed still. He knew harm would befall her if she stepped in and he wouldn't have that.

"Put that new piece on him" said Doto before Mizore took a small metal cylinder with a blue and red ying yang sign and removed half of it. Naruto watched as sparks shot off each half as it separated before it was slammed into his stomach. Once it made contact small cords shot out and implanted them in his stomach, sealing off all of his chakra as it did. Naruto struggled to stay awake as his energy left him, he fell to his knees before looking to Koyuki.

"Survive" he mouthed to her before he fell forward, knocked out cold from losing access to his chakra.

Later that day

Naruto slowly awoke, feeling weightless as he opened his eyes. He examined his surroundings and noticed his arms were cuffed and chained to the ceiling and his legs were chained together, his body hanging limply from the ceiling.

"You're finally awake" said Koyuki from a cell across from his.

"A-are you unharmed?" asked Naruto, still waking up and getting his bearings straight.

"They didn't touch me, just lead me here with you."

"Good" said Naruto before he closed his eyes.

"_**Hitome, any info on this device currently sapping all my chakra?"**_

"_**The chakra and electricity flowing through it is disrupting your chakra flow. I could push mine through to override it and shatter it but after that there isn't much else I can do. You've used a tail work of chakra in nearly a day already, to break that device it'd take another half a tail. I can only give you half after that before it will start to affect your health afterwards."**_

"_**Let's break this then, once we do that I will just have to rely on my jutsu instead of your chakra for taijutsu" **_said Naruto before he opened his eyes and looked at Koyuki.

"Don't be alarmed about what you going to see next. I will not harm you" said Naruto, confusing Koyuki before she saw his cell go dark. It began to shake a bit as his eyes turned from their bright blue to crimson red with black slits. It was an ominous look, seeing just his red eyes as dark red smoke flowed out of the cell and she noticed sparks traveling around his body. The device on his body sent more sparks around Naruto before it shattered and a gust of hot wind shot out, forcing her to cover her eyes from the sudden burst. What she didn't know was it alerted the ninja around her, that gust of wind was laced with the chakra that was forcing Naruto's chakra down. As soon as he felt his chakra come back and Hitome's begin to leave him he channeled the rest of her chakra to his arms and legs, shattering the cuffs and letting him fall to the ground. He fell into a crouch position before sensing a few ninja running to his cell so he dropped on his right side, attempting to seem as though he passed out.

"What happened?" asked on ninja when they arrived at Naruto's cell.

"I think he overloaded that device, let's get him chained back on and get a sealing tag" said the other ninja, removing the electricity seal on the bars before both walked in and approached the boy. What they didn't expect was for him jump up and slam his hidden blades into each of their throats before retracting the blade. As both ninja fell and Naruto stood the one with the seal slid it onto Naruto's leg, causing electricity to surge through his entire body. The pain was blinding as it coursed through him, he knelled down and was lucky enough to run his hand across it, sliding it off and letting it fall to the floor. Naruto stood up once more, this time much slower and made his way to Koyuki's cell. She stood up, worry obviously written on her face as he removed the seal and unlocked it with the guards key. He was thankful he had some of Hitome's chakra still in his system, it healed up his leg enough to allow him to run on it for the time being.

"Let's go, we have to get out of here" said Naruto before he took her hand and began to run, pulling her along with him. They had ran for nearly a quarter of a mile before stopping and facing off with a snow ninja.

Naruto moved to pull out a kunai when he spoke "Naruto, it me Kakashi!" Naruto stopped when the snow ninja took off his white clothes to show his sensei.

Naruto sighed "I'm glad it's you, those chakra sealing tags you wear when in disguise mess with my sensory abilities."

Kakashi chuckled "I'm sure but we have to get moving. Doto is still in here, Sasuke and Yugito are going to meet us where he is. Also, here's your necklace Koyuki. I apologize for taking it but I assume you understood my worry if you had the real one at the time." Koyuki nodded her head, taking her necklace back when Kakashi handed it to her. Naruto nodded his head before he followed Kakashi, still pulling Koyuki along with him. They had made it with little resistance to the main building Doto was in, and as they expected he was sitting high above them like some king does with peasants.

"It's nice to see you again princess. I assume you've gotten what I want?" asked Doto. Koyuki said nothing as she ran up the stairs to him, but Naruto whispered to Kakashi.

"You see that?" asked Naruto, mentioning the glint of metal from her sleeve and Kakashi nodded his head. He had handed her the crystal he exchanged in hopes she would take the throne, he lost hope for a second when she ran up the stairs but that glint of metal changed his belief for the better once again.

"The hex crystal my dear" said Doto and she handed him the real crystal. However, once she did he felt something hit his side. Looking down he saw a blade had pierced the cloth of his cloak and he only laughed before slamming his fist into her gut.

"Foolish girl, you think I didn't expect that!" said Doto as he let his cloak fall to reveal a full set of chakra armor.

"Like it? This one is the best model yet, it can be calibrated for certain things. I have a setting for each of you. Now, I think it's time I take my leave" said the man before grabbing Koyuki by the waist. As soon as he did wings sprouted from the mechanize on his back and the ceiling above moved to the side, his escape route already planned. Kakashi moved to intercept him but Nadare, Mizore, and Fubuki stood in their path. As Doto took off Naruto reacted, throwing rope with a small weight attacked to the end at Koyuki. She grabbed hold of the weight in one hand and held the rope with the other as Doto ascended, taking Naruto with them. They had flown for barely a minute before the man noticed the extra weight. He looked down to see Naruto slowly climbing up a rope Koyuki held.

"Smart kid but this is as far as you go" said Doto before flying forward then going arching down and cutting the rope Naruto held onto, sending him plummeting to the ground. Naruto easily avoided breaking any bones on the branches and landed on the snow with a dull thud. He expanded his sensory field before finding the direction Doto was headed too. He began to start running when he noticed the film director and his assistant ride up next to him with some kind of electric machine that moved them around.

"Hop on kid, we'll take you there" said the director and Naruto nodded his thanks before getting on.

With Koyuki

Doto dropped her down on the ice as he approached the small well like structure, six large mirror like pillars surrounded them.

"Time to see the treasure of the Kazehana clan" said Doto as he placed the crystal in the spot in the well. Purple light shot out of the well and towards the large mirror like pillars before they glowed briefly and steam shot out from behind them.

Doto growled "Generators? That's the great treasure!?"

"Generators to melt the ice and free this country of its everlasting winter" said Naruto as he slowed his pace to stand forty feet from Doto.

"You're still alive? This time I'll make sure you never get up" said Doto before he weaved a few hand signs. However, Naruto weaved hand signs faster than Doto and slammed his palms to the ice.

"**Hyoton: Aisusupaiku(Ice release: Ice spike!)" **said Naruto before a spike made of ice shot out at Doto a few feet in front of him. The ice hit no chakra wall as it slammed into the core of his armor, severely cracking it and making Doto skid back a few feet feet.

"You….you can use ice jutsu?" asked Doto as he looked to Naruto. The boy was slowly standing, panting from using more chakra than he expected on his first time using that element.

"I had my chakra armor set to stop any taijutsu, genjutsu and some ninjutsu since you were a taijutsu oriented man. For a second I thought I made the wrong choice but it seems you can barely use any jutsu without exhausting you reserves." Naruto said nothing as Doto slowly walked towards him, a confidant smile on his face as he tensed his muscles. The man was arrogant enough to think he was just going to break his neck or something with one hit, how foolish.

"_**Hitome" **_said Naruto through the link

"_**You can use hiraishin once and one medium suiton jutsu but that's it. I can't give you any more chakra after that for the next week so you body won't get damaged" **_said Hitome and Naruto nodded his head before he felt a surge of chakra. Doto only had less than half a second to notice the spike in chakra before Naruto had appeared just a foot from him, his palm facing his chest.

**Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu (Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!)" **said Naruto before water suddenly appeared around it, swirling around then shooting at Doto. The torrent of water slammed into him and sent him spiraling into one of the pillars, cracking the ice around it. As Doto fell the ice too fell, revealing a glowing pillar behind the ice. Once it was revealed the others glowed brighter, melting the ice and kicking the generators around the island into overdrive. With multiple generators and a large surge of chakra the ice around the island melted nearly instantaneously, revealing the lush landscape the land of snow hadn't seen in centuries. Naruto walked up to Koyuki as she watched the display of her father and her created by the large pillars. His team slowly appeared next to him, Yugito and Sasuke looking as if they had barely done anything while Kakashi had a few cuts on his jonin vest.

"Everything go well?" asked Naruto quietly as not to disturb Koyuki watching the scenes of her childhood play out before her.

"Mizore and Fubuki could barely function after that explosion you caused, it was relatively easy to finish them off with a few fire and lightning jutsu. Kakashi had to fight off Nadare and a few other ninja that joined in but he took care of them all" said Yugito.

"You seem to have gotten the best fighting partners then" said Naruto as he sighed and sat down, his body just barely able to move after using so much bijuu chakra in such large bursts.

Three days later

Naruto adjusted his tie as he walked Koyuki to a table inside one of the nicer restaurants of the land of snow, his limp still obvious. He couldn't use Hitome's chakra to heal his damaged muscles so his leg still stung quite a bit since the adrenaline from the fight had long since worn off.

"I still can't believe you agreed to this" said Naruto, referring to Koyuki holding his arm. She was wearing a regular two strap dress that reached to her knees, black dress shoes and a small hand purse. She wore no make-up and let her hair flow downwards, after asking Naruto in his own words 'Don't look like a doll.'

She smiled slightly "It's the least I could do, I owe you my life after all." Naruto shook his head and moved her chair back for her before sitting down himself.

"You owe me nothing, I have done what I was requested to do with all my abilities" said Naruto before a waiter came by.

"What may I get for you…both?" asked the man, stopping himself from saying your highness. Koyuki has clearly stated before in a public speaking she didn't like to be called such, her name would suffice.

"A Château Cheval Blanc Bordeaux please" said Koyuki.

"Rh-no, I'd like a glass of Blanton's original" said Naruto. The waiter hesitated a moment, glancing to Koyuki then to Naruto.

"I'm sorry sir but you are not of age" said the man and Naruto pulled out of Konoha ninja ID.

"Excuse me sir, I didn't know. I will be right out with your drinks" said the waiter before he bowed and walked away.

"What was that? You can drink?"

"Of course, a ninja is a legal adult in any nation. It's more of a common practice in every country but I'm sure there's a law somewhere about it" said Naruto before the waiter returned, setting their drinks down and pulling out a small notepad.

"What is it you wish to have today?" asked the waiter.

"Sautéed Bass with Lemongrass" said Koyuki, never looking at the menu. She was used to getting such things, being an actress meant she dinned at high class restaurants often when meeting with other actors and actresses.

Naruto browsed the menu for a minute before speaking "Lamb chops with a side of asparagus and a red roasted potato." The waiter bowed once more before leaving the two alone.

"So" said Koyuki before taking a sip of her wine "Tell me about yourself. You know quite a bit about me after all."

"What do you want to know?" asked Naruto.

"Tell me….hmm….tell me what happened before all this. Before you became a ninja, what was life like in a usual day for you?"

Naruto sighed and took a sip of his drink "Get comfortable, this may take some time."

Two hours later

It had started with him telling about his day and somehow it had escalated to where he described his entire life's story, minus a few personal things. It seemed his story was so intriguing any table within twenty feet of him was inthrawled in his past. They wondered how he lived as he did and turned out so well, many of the eavesdroppers felt pity, knowing they couldn't stand the treatment this boy was given. As the waiter came by their table he knelt down and faced Naruto.

"Sir, it seems we have been asked you not pay for your orders. There are multiple tables that have already paid for you meal in full along with a few extra bottles of drinks. Do you wish to have them wrapped up?"

"I can seal them away but have hers wrapped please" said Naruto. The waiter nodded his head and walked off, leaving the two alone once more.

"That is certainly surprising, my story isn't that sad is it?" asked Naruto in a joking manor but stopped when he looked at Koyuki, looking downcast.

"Your life was lonely, you had nothing and started with nothing. How did you stay so happy?" asked Koyuki, now everyone was once more tuned it for his answer.

"Truthfully, I met someone who understood my pain a bit. Sasuke lost his family, he had something and it was taken from him. He didn't fully understand what I went through but it was more than anyone else understood around me, we became friends and that saved me. I had someone to connect with, and to be truthful I think it was the same with him. He may have lost himself in his hate, becoming something much different than he is now. So, I guess the answer is I found someone to help me through the tough times, to keep me on my feet all the way through" said Naruto before he stretched and stood.

"I believe it's getting late, my body still needs rest after all" said Naruto. As he stood the waiter came by, handing him two bottles of the bourbon he was drinking and handing Koyuki two bottles of her whine wrapped up in a box. Naruto pulled up his sleeve and sealed the two bottles in a small storage seal tattooed on his wrist then slid the sleeve back down and held out his arm. Koyuki grabbed onto it before walking out and up the paved street.

"When is your ceremony?" asked Naruto.

"In four days" said Koyuki.

"Well, good luck. I will be seeing you then" said Naruto stopping at the compound. His room was on the opposite side and hers was nearly the entire left side of the compound.

"Where will you be until then?"

"Resting and reading up on some scrolls I had checked out before I left the village. Goodnight princess" said Naruto with a small bow before he walked off.

Four days later

Koyuki couldn't keep the smile down as the ceremony finished, she was ecstatic to be looked up to and loved by so many people. However, something had caught her eye. For a second, barely even long enough to register anything, she saw what looked like her father and Sandayu smiling up at her before they disappeared in the crowd.

"Was that you Naruto?" asked Sasuke, his sharingan flaring briefly to notice the subtle genjutsu.

"A present for her coronation" said Naruto as he looked up, watching the clouds go by. His team didn't say anything else until Koyuki arrived to greet them.

"I know you've heard this a thousand times but thank you, truly. I know I was a brat but being here, seeing their faces has put things into perspective for me" said Koyuki.

"It's alright, we understand" said Yugito.

"Well, before they drag me off and you guys leave I do have a few things for you" said Koyuki before handing them each a envelope.

"Sasuke, that's some information that Doto was getting on Itachi. I didn't know if you wanted it but there are some pictures and information on his whereabouts." Sasuke nodded his head and slide the note in his jacket, waiting to read the papers.

"Naruto, you got the picture we took that I signed." Naruto opened it and smiled a bit, it was when they took a picture after officially opening her father's compound once more.

"Yugito I got you exclusive access to my line of clothes and makeup that comes out later this month. I wasn't sure what you were into but I hoped that was something you would like."

"No, this is great! I needed to buy some regular clothes and makeup was always something that was too expensive since I wanted the good stuff" said Yugito.

"Kakashi, what you have are two things. One is a script for the Icha Icha movie I'll be in, Jiraiya said it would be best if you helped out in making it. The second is something a bit more serious, it seems Doto has been sent many request to help a neighboring town with some kind of issue in the mountains near them. They only spoke of-"

"They only asked for reinforcements and said it was of dire need, only mentioning of a strange demonic presence briefly. I had read that report when wandering the halls for traps, I planned on seeing if it was close but it seems it's only a few miles from here. We'll go assist them, it most likely is just a small cult of worshipers, an easy mission. Thank you for the report though, I can send a copy to the hokage so he knows what's going on" said Kakashi.

Koyuki nodded her head "Well thank you all, I do hope you come and visit sometime." The group bowed to her before she ran off into the compound to sign more autographs.

"Alright everyone, I know everyone's still a little tired but this should be an easy mission. It could be a bit challenging but nothing more than what we just went through so let's head out. The quicker we get this over with the better" said Kakashi before he took to the roof tops, his team follow hot on his trail.

**Well that's chapter 3 of Brotherhoood! I did get quite a lot done even though I was only planning on a few thousand words not 9,000+. Oh well, that's to be expected as a writer. I hope you all enjoyed it and a new chapter should be out within the hour! Have a great day and don't forget to review!**


	4. Chapter 4

Key:

"Naruto"-speaking of humans and demons in human form

'_Naruto'_-thinking of humans and demons in human form

"**Naruto"**-Demon speaking in demon form and any attacks

"_Naruto"_-Demons thinking in demon form

"_**Naruto"**_-anyone speaking through a mental link

'_The difference between genius and insanity is measured by success' _–Bruce Feirstein

Chapter 4

Naruto twitched a bit when he felt three signatures enter his sensory field and move towards them.

"Three people just entered my sensory field, their moving towards us at a fast pace. I can't tell if their hostile but they picked up speed as soon as they got in my field so it's a possibility" said Naruto.

"Act as if nothing's wrong, we will act if they attack" said Kakashi. They silently sailed through the trees, Naruto counting down till they arrived.

"We'll make contact in 3….2…1….now!" shouted Naruto just as a small girl appeared on the branch in front of him, her spear thrust at his face. She expected in impale him easily and go for the others but was proven wrong when her attack was deflected. The boy thrust his hands upward, two small blades protruded up from his wrist and allowed him to push the blade high into the air. With the sudden change in motion the girl let go of the spear and only had enough time to see it sail into the branch above before Naruto pinned her to the branch she stood on.

As that happened Kakashi was attacked by someone else, a woman wielding two katana's. She swung one in a downward motion which Kakashi easily parried with a kunai but as soon as he did that she swung the one in her left hand horizontally at him. The angle was set to injure him but not kill but when she swung she hadn't corrected her stance, leaving a large opening. Before she even had registered he moved she was slammed into a tree by a kick to her stomach, her swords pressed into the branch she stood on and a kunai to her neck.

While Kakashi and Naruto had fought their attackers Yugito and Sasuke took one on themselves, a girl wielding a large scythe had come for them. She swung it expertly, swinging down to hit Sasuke but he shifted right which was something she prepared for. She choked up on the handle, letting it pull towards her and pass by the branch and instead of stopping it she continued with the motion. The blade went down and she flipped in mid air, letting it arch around as she landed on the branch Sasuke and Yugito stood on. Once her feet touched down the scythe changed direction, moving horizontally to slice Sasuke in half. Sasuke, with his sharingan active, saw the move before she even swung and planned for a counter. As it neared him he fell back on his hands then kicked his legs up, sending the scythe upwards and out of the way. The move shocked his opponent and she went to focus on not losing her blade which made her lose eye contact with Yugito who stood behind Sasuke. As the girl tried to choke up again on her scythe Yugito tackled her, moving both her arms behind her back and sitting on her to keep her from getting up.

"I expected no less from Kakashi no Sharingan and his team. It seems you are a good enough team to help us" said the dual wielding swordswoman.

"Who are you?" asked Kakashi.

"We are the people who sent the messages to Doto, hoping he would send someone but after hearing he was overthrown by your team we hoped you would come. It seems the gods smiled upon us today, my name is Mika. The spear user is Keiko, and the scythe wielder is Amiya." As Mika spoke their names Kakashi has time to examine more of how they looked. Mika, as the other two, had a fair skin complexion. Her jet black hair reached to the middle of her back, her amber looked back at him calmly. She wore a simple white sun dress and black ninja style heels.

Keiko had soft purple hair that reached just past her shoulders, forest green eyes, a small and lithe body. She had on a black button up shirt tucked into a black skirt that reached down to her knees, a white belt, black ninja style heels and a black cloak with a green stripped hood.

Amiya had brown hair that almost reached her knees, a neutral expression that seemed to never change and stormy grey eyes. A navy blue dress that reached just to the top of her knees, and white ninja style heels.

"Is this the only people you have?" asked Kakashi, not letting go of the girl.

"Yes, we live in a small town just a mile from the cave in the mountain. They have left most of the townsfolk alone but any travelers are killed, we find their bodies dry of blood in the forest" said Mika. Kakashi pondered his next move before letting the girl go, his team mimicking his actions.

"What do you need us to do?" asked Naruto.

"Follow us to the cave and provide assistance, the path splits up as soon as you enter. We have avoided the one that reeks of demonic presence but the others have two people in each, they are just as strong as us so it makes it impossible to split up. We have tried it only once since they overtook the cave, after we nearly died the first time we have just protected our town and hoped someone would answer our message. It seems you will do much better than the cannon fodder we expected to get" said Mika before she took off, the others following suit. They didn't go far surprisingly, they had only traveled ten minutes from where they had met but now that they were outside the cave everyone felt the demonic presence. They walked in and were met with three separate hallways, the center seemed to radiate demonic energy while the two sides just emitted regular chakra.

"The room to the right has two master swordswoman, one is a fully armored one that uses chakra to lighten her armor and move as fast as someone without it. The other dresses in a traditional kimono and uses a cursed blade, each hit saps chakra from you. The amount it takes depends on how badly it cuts you and how long it runs across you" said Mika.

"The left room leads to a summoner, she summons a large beast made of vines. It moved about the speed of a chunin but it regenerates any missing limbs, I have not taken its head off before nor shot any jutsu at it. The second is another spear user like myself except she is adapt in using fire to add to her spear technique" said Keiko.

"Mika and I will go right, Yugito and Keiko will go left while Sasuke, Naruto and Amiya will go straight" said Kakashi.

"Sending that many that way I see" said Mika.

"It would be best" said Kakashi.

"Good luck" said Yugito and Naruto nodded his head.

"Let's get this over with" said Sasuke before the three took off running down the center hall.

"Might as well follow suit" said Mika before the rest took off down their respective halls.

With Yugito and Keiko

"Anything I need to know about the summoner?" asked Yugito.

"She's mute so she doesn't talk and she has only summoned her beast. Other than that she never did anything else besides letting him fight for her. She's a blonde girl that looks kind of like you and wears black pants, a white t-shirt and doesn't have shoes on. The other girl just has on a pair of white shorts, a green shirt and black ninja sandals. I'd let the summoner attack first, then move from their" said Keiko before they arrived in a large open room.

"So the failed attempt comes back with a little help?" said a voice before a woman wielding a spear walked out from the shadows, her head held high and a smirk on her face. As she walked out a large hulking beast walked out from beside her. It seemed entirely made up of thick vines held together, looking similar to a Minotaur in those fairy tale books. However, unlike in the books it wielded no axe but instead wielded a massive club and it towered over her at nearly twenty feet tall. She could feel the connection of chakra from the beast to something hidden in the shadows, a seal perhaps or the summoner. Her first mission was to find the summoner so there wouldn't be any sneak attacks before dealing with the hulking behemoth in front of her.

"I'll take Ari, you take May" said Keiko before she ran off, already preparing her spear. Yugito gulped when the beast moved towards her, she expected it to move rather slow but it took off. In nearly a second it was on top of her, its club moving to flatten her where she stood. Keiko was right, it was best to let him move first because he left a lot of free space to maneuver. Yugito easily avoided the club by running under it then throwing a small flash bomb into the darkness at the other side of the large room. It went off and Yugito got a good picture of what things looked like, the summoner May stood on a large seal near the other wall. Now that she saw it Yugito noticed the chakra she felt was connected to the seal, meaning the summoner had to stay in it or keep the seal intact to keep her summon out. That made things easy enough so she threw two kunai at the girl but to her dismay they bounces off a wall that seemed to be around the seal.

'_Remember, if a summoner is inside a seal it is most likely shielded by the seal for protection. If no jutsu or weapon pierces the seal do not enter, there is a good chance they have a precaution for that. Now, the best way to enter a seal like that is to use the summon, after all they wouldn't refuse their own summon to get close to them' said Kakashi as he went over some notes on summons to the anbu trainees present._

Yugito went to weave hand signs but felt the ground shake as the beast turned and set its sights on her once more. She threw a few explosive tags connected to kunai on its arms before jumping back another twenty feet as they exploded. The blasts easily disconnected the arms but just as Keiko said it's arms grew back at an astonishing rate as the old ones shriveled up and died.

'_Ok, so it takes three seconds to regenerate its arms, most likely it will be the same for any other appendage. Let's try something else' _thought Yugito before throwing a ball at it. The summon moved as she expected it too, hitting the ball with its club and she got the results she wanted. As soon as it make contact the ball exploded, taking the arms of the beast again and causing it to stumble backwards a bit.

'_Ok, so it is moves on its own and isn't a mindless drone. Alright step two' _thought Yugito before she weaved a few hand signs and looked at May.

"**Katon: Nezumi Kedama(Fire release: Mouse hairball)!" **shouted Yugito before she spit out a dozen small balls of blue fire that swarmed May and attacked the seal like homing missiles. Her attacks only exploded on contact of the barrier around the seal, exactly what Yugito expected.

'_Now step three' _thought Yugito before she jumped into the air to avoid the vine club however that was a mistake on her part. She jumped to high, now she was just finished her upward movement when the Minotaur moved the club horizontally, intent on batting her into the wall. The blow connected but May gained a confused look when wood shattered instead of blood on the club. Her confusing moved to smugness when she saw Yugito running to her. The girl made it to the seal and pushed her hand out to touch the barrier and only succeeded in being stopped by it, not going through it.

Yugito felt the beast near her, its club hissing through the air as it moved upward to crush her and as it neared her Yugito changed. Both her pupils morphed to slits, one eye turning green and the other yellow. She smiled as the club fell and only then did May look shocked, seeing the shadow of the club cover over her in the last half second before Yugito disappeared. She reappeared thirty feet behind the Minotaur as it slammed into the ground then began to decay and disappear along with the dust it kicked up with its club. Once it had all settled Yugito saw May laying lifeless in a creator of her broken seal. The two tailed jinchuuriki moved her attention to the explosion that shook the ground and saw Ari impaled on her own spear and Keiko fell to the ground. Yugito gathered Keiko had somehow planted the spear on the ground before kicking her on it hard enough to crack the ground the spear was on.

"I would have never thought you could do such a thing with summons" said Keiko, limping to Yugito. Her leg had a sever burned gash along with a large one on her back and on her arm. Yugito motioned for her to sit and she unsealed the medical pack she carried.

"I didn't expect you to impale her on her own blade like that" said Yugito.

"She let it go and tried to go to hand to hand, I used the blunt end of my spear to connect with her chin and send her in the air. Taking advantage of the spear she embedded in the tile I jumped up and used a chakra enhanced kick to slam her into her spear."

"Not bad, we'll patch you and rest a few minutes before moving farther in" said Yugito as she began to tend to Keiko.

With Kakashi and Mika

"Kira is the armored one, Serena is the one that will be dressed in a kimono. Which one do you wish to take Hatake-san?" asked Mika.

"I'll take the one that uses lightning, it would be better fighting someone that uses my element."

"Then I shall take Serena" said Mika as they entered a large room. In it two women stood alone, one in a full armor suit minus the helment with a large sword similar to Zabuza of the mist's head cleaver. To her left was a woman about two inches shorter, wearing a light blue kimono and a sheathed sword held in her left hand. Before any spoke a small piece of paper appeared in Kakashi's hand, piquing everyone's interest.

"It seems Naruto did a little recon before moving to his opponent. He sensed a live connection between these two and another being deeper in the cave. He said the connection is a chakra feeding connection, it will allow them a constantly full chakra pool so let's make this quick" said Kakashi, tossing the letter behind him as it burned away. He walked forward, his anbu tanto sliding from out of his sleeve and into his hand while he pushed his headband up.

"Kakashi no Sharingan, it seems this will not be as easy as we planned. No matter, all intel has depictated you as quick the lazy jonin for years. This shouldn't be too hard" said Kira, lifting her massive sword and charging Kakashi. Kakashi didn't falter in step, he continued his calm walk forward as Kira neared him with her blade. As she reached within striking distance Kira slammed her foot down, causing the floor to rumble with the force behind it. When the floor shook Kakashi missed his step slightly, causing him to fall forward as Kira swung to cleave him in half. She smirked slightly when her sword easily cleaved him in half, the other two looking on in shock.

However, not shock for what had just transpired but what was missed by Kira. She had only a second to realize what was happening, the Kakashi in front of her dissipated like an illusion and she felt a change in wind behind her. Following the momentum of her sword she twisted her body, forcing her to push upwards with her legs. The force she used with her legs caused her to be air born and still allow her to move fluently with the momentum of her strike as Kakashi swung downward from above. Their swords connected but it didn't go as Kira intended, her strike deflected both their weapons out. However, it worked in Kakashi's favor. As both their swords moved to leave them open Kakashi channeled chakra to his arm and punched Kira as hard as he could. The amount of chakra Kakashi added at the time seemed good but once it connected it was clear he went overkill on it. As soon as the attack connected Kira was slammed into the ground with enough force to shatter the tile under her and kick up a cloud of dust that covered the two.

It soon settled when a shockwave of chakra was sent out when Mika and Serena's blades clashed. Serena's cursed sword pulsed with chakra as she struggled for dominance against Mika's two swords.

"You've gotten better" said Serena in a neutral tone.

"I've trained for some time now to face you" said Mika.

"It wasn't enough" said Serena, appearing behind her in a burst of speed. She swung downward towards her back but her blade only connected with cold steel before she retracted her katana. Serena noticed Mika had used the blade in her right hand and put it behind her spine, deflecting the surely crippling attack.

Mika turned her head and smiled "You were saying?" Serena growled and leaned forward to charge at her but as she did her body fell and her head rolled, Kakashi's tanto charged with lightning retracted as he stood to his full height.

"That was my opponent" said Mika and Kakashi shook his head.

"We have no time, it seems Naruto has advanced faster than either of us. I feel the demonic presence pulsing as though it is battling. We need to hurry" said Kakashi but he stopped when Mika spoke again.

"How can you fight correctly with only one working arm?" motioning to his left arm hanging limply at his side.

"I have many ways, now let's go" said Kakashi and Mika only shook her head before following behind him.

With Naruto, Sasuke and Amiya

The trio walked slowly down the hall before Naruto stopped and summoned a paper and pen before writing something on it.

"What is it?" asked Amiya.

"I sensed something that pertains to Kakashi and Mika's opponents, one moment" said Naruto before the paper disappeared in a cloud of smoke and Naruto stood.

"Sorry, we may continue" said Naruto before they started walking again. The hallway seemed endless to them, however Naruto quickly noticed the illusion.

"How simple" said Naruto before pulsing his chakra to dispel the minor genjutsu. Once he did the entire area changed completely, instead of standing in hallway they stood in the Uchiha district in Konoha. The only difference, it was filled with Uchiha. Sasuke narrowed his eyes and pulsed his chakra to dispel the illusion but once he did everyone stopped then turned to him. Each and every one's faces were blank, just skin that look at Sasuke before charging at him. Naruto acted quickly and pushed a large amount of chakra outwards, shattering the illusion and briefly revealing a girl in front of him. She stood around his height, wore a black bell bottom dress with high heels. Her midnight blue hair flowed back with the sudden burst of chakra, her soft white skin and teal eyes showed a momentary glimpse of fear before it was replaced by anger. She surged her chakra outwards and the room changed again, however before it did Naruto noticed the seals lining the entire room they stood in. Once the illusion set only Amiya knew what was happening, they stood in a forest that was set ablaze. Fire raged, engulfing and destroying any life it touched as it neared them. Sasuke growled and let his sharingan flare to life and Naruto narrowed his eyes.

"Listen, Sasuke you need to send out a burst of chakra. It will break a few of these layered illusions and after that I'll cast something I've been working on with Hitome. Once I do Amiya you need to charge the girl in front of us, clear?" Sasuke responded with a short 'hai' but Naruto didn't hear any response from Amiya. That's when he realized this was a nightmare for her, something to deal with fire and the forest, possible her parent's house burning down. Naruto turned around and hugged her, cloaking her with his chakra to silence anything around them. When he did he noticed her heart was beating extremely fast, almost to the extent of a heart attack and her breath was beginning to slow.

"It's only an illusion, just a figment of your imagination. There is nothing to fear" said Naruto, channeling a bit of chakra to his vocal cords, causing his voice to seem much more calming than usual. Amiya's heart rate slowed down and her breath became constant before she nodded her head.

"I-I will, just make this go away" said Amiya.

"Sasuke, you're going up first. Also, don't talk about what you see, this is currently my most powerful technique" said Naruto. Sasuke pushed his chakra outwards, breaking the illusion and the one under it but as soon as it broke another formed, this time being the village of Konoha. An 8 year old Naruto stood crying in the street as villagers past time, glaring and whispering insults.

"Enough of this **Genjitsu no sukima kara shintō shi, subete no sonzai no naka ni shōkyo shimasu. Kitsune iryūjon: Konagona(Seep through the cracks of reality and erase all within existence. Kitsune Illusion: shatter)!" **said Naruto before what Sasuke and Amiya would describe as impossible happened. They both felt a surge of demonic chakra from Naruto before the very room around them cracked before falling apart, revealing only a pure white void with their equally shocked opponent standing across from them.

"**Move quickly" **said Naruto and Amiya shook her head before dashing forward. She faced her opponent within half a second then swung her scythe diagonally, tearing through the girl and killing her instantly before the world around them reformed. The broken pieces quickly moved back into place and revealed they stood in a large room with seals painted all over it, from top to bottom before centering on where the girl once stood.

"W-What was that?" asked Amiya as she turned to see Sasuke helping up Naruto.

"A genjutsu that breaks the reality of a certain area but this is not limited to merely people. It affects any in the range of the jutsu, I had recently been delving into it so it took more chakra than I would have liked. I should be ok though, it was the suddenness of how much it took that shocked me" said Naruto, standing up on his own and walking down another hall. Amiya and Sasuke remained silent, not asking any questions to the blond before they reached a room much larger and more furbished than the others. To their right was a large couch, two chairs on either side and in the center a very decorative gold and red table. On their left was a large plush bed, an elegant red and gold bed spread with a small black nightstand next to it. In front of them was black velvet carpet leading up to a throne like stone chair, the back extending nearly ten feet up. What made the others tense was the woman that sat in it, the same woman that excluded the large demonic presence. She was snowy white hair that fell down to the middle of her back, porcelain skin, blood red eyes with black slits and a smirk. She had on a simple black dress that stopped just short of her ankles, wore two inch red heels, had a black chocker with a red jewel in the middle and a black ring with a red jewel.

"We meet at last miss Amiya and I must say that you are very lucky to have come across a strong team. If you hadn't, well we wouldn't be having this conversation now would we?" said the woman with a small chuckle.

Naruto stepped forward and bowed "Naruto Uzumaki, this is Sasuke Uchiha of Konoha. May I ask your name in return?"

The woman smiled and rested her head on her left hand "How polite, giving your name first. What a gentlemen you must be. I am Rosaria, a… member of an old organization."

"Project Rosary, a small organization that was dead set on using the scrolls found at the ruins of Uzushiogakure. The being they had found was labeled a Vampire, an immortal being with the strength and speed few could match in battle. The only drawback being obvious features that pointed one out as such and the thirst for blood, be it animal or human. I know much of what that is, after all, I am an Uzumaki so I have access to such things in the scroll vault in my village" said Naruto, the others arriving as he begun to speak.

Rosaria narrowed her eyes "I didn't think they kept any records on our group."

"Only one did, merely to keep tabs on those delving into our clans secrets. It said you had never come up with any solid but it seems you did, after all that was many decades ago that it was written" said Naruto.

Rosaria smirked again and stood, walking down the few steps to stand level with the others. She was only a few inches taller than Naruto but the power she excluded unnerved the others.

"I must say, you are very knowledgeable . I have never seen someone so young with such a drive for knowledge as you, nor have I felt such power from those so young as you and your teammates. It seems I may have to work a bit for my meal" said Rosaria before she sent out a burst of demonic energy and her eyes glowed briefly.

"Is there any weakness the scroll spoke of?" asked Kakashi making their opponent laugh.

"A weakness is something everyone has Kakashi but that is for normal people. You will find I am much more durable and have no weaknesses you speak of."

"Every living being has weakness, and I know yours" said Naruto stepping forward causing the woman to narrow her eyes.

"Do you now?"

"A being like yours has two, one much more obvious than the other. The first is you weaken over time if you do not feed, the blood is in essence your life force. Now for the second, as a demonic being it would make sense a holy artifact would be a weakness. Not just any run of the mill artifact, something powerful enough to be used in combat."

"What are you leading too?" asked Rosaria.

"I'll be blunt" said Naruto before a surge of energy shot out of him. It was as dense as or denser than Rosaria's energy she emitted, the energy shifted before condensing around Naruto's hands. Then, black energy formed in small wisps of energy before the compacted and Naruto's daggers appeared in his hands. Barely even measuring a foot in length the weapon didn't look intimidating but Rosaria took a few shaky steps back, fear evident in her eyes. She felt it, the one substance she never expected to encounter in her lifetime, curse the gods!

"Speak the name, speak what it is" said Naruto, channeling some of Hitome's chakra to enhance his speed and strength to compete with her as best he could.

"One of the three holy artifacts created by three men blessed with the ability to use ninshu, taught to them by the Sage of the six paths and his brother. The daggers of Rajak Kertia, possessing powers that aid in steath, using ninshu to do such things puts them in a class of their own" said Rosaira.

"You know quite a bit, as expected to know about your weakness" said Naruto. Rosaria suddenly shook off her fear and it quickly changed to hate and rage but Naruto knew better, she was angry he had something she truly feared.

"I will not fear those things and I will not fear a child like you who wields them!" shouted the woman before disappearing in a burst of speed. Naruto instantly shortened his sensory field, what few knew he could do. He had the ability to shorten the field and condense it, allowing him to 'feel' the movements of his opponent faster than he could see. From how training went it was at the level of a stage two sharingan, just enough to keep up with his opponent. Naruto held both blades above his head to defect the elongated fingernails of Rosaira. The force of the attack had forced the floor to buckle, creating a small indent a few feet wide where Naruto stood.

"Not bad but I'm not alone" said Naruto before Rosaria used her hand to push off Naruto and attach to the ceiling, avoiding a barrage of kunai from Sasuke.

"Do whatever you can to hit her, her healing will only help so much" said Naruto before he swung both daggers, sending a 'X' of pure ninshu at her. She dashed left, avoiding the attack but walking into Kakashi's, forcing her to duck his horizontal slash then jump down to miss Yugito's kick. Once she made it on the floor Rosaria kicked away a charging Amiya, round housed Mika to her left then jumped back to avoid Keiko's strike. She flew through hand signs and shot off a fireball that matched up with Sasuke's before disappearing in a burst of speed to miss the dagger Naruto tried to thrust at her. Once she had reappeared a few feet from her throne only to stumble back courtesy of a drop kick from Yugito. She barely moved her head to the side to avoid a lightning charged blade from Kakashi but couldn't avoid the surge of energy Naruto sent out from his left dagger when he appeared in front of her. The attack had enough power to slam her into the wall twenty feet behind her, denting it severely.

That was the last straw for Rosaria, it was time she stopped messing around. Naruto never saw it coming, he was retracting his blade to prepare for an attack when a leg smashed into his chest, sending him flying across the room and into the wall. She followed up with a back hand to the side of Sasuke's head before choke slamming Yugito who attempted to charge her. In an instant things changed once more, she flipped backwards to avoid a spear head attempting to cut her stomach open but missed Mika moving behind her. The swordswoman had given her a clean cut on the left side of her back as she flipped over her.

As soon as she landed Rosaria flew through hand signs and spoke** Katon: Karyu Endan(Fire release: Fire Dragon Flame bullet)!" **A large dragon made entirely of fire shot out of her mouth and at the group that had just recently gathered back together.

The attack almost connected before a voice rang out **Suiton: Suijinheki(Water release: Water encampment wall)!" **A wall of water suddenly formed from thin air, causing the two jutsu to collide and cover the room with steam.

As steam was forming they heard a chuckle "How unfortunate, I can see through this fog just as I see all else." For a few seconds all they heard was the sounds of fighting, feeling gusts of air before Kakashi sent a large burst of chakra out, dispersing the steam but he wished he hadn't. Mika had been impaled on her own sword, the other embedded next to her in the wall. Keiko was knocked out, her scythe lay broken next to her. Amiya was struggling to stay awake, holding her head with her spear across the room from her. Yugito seemed to have been hit severely hard in the gut, she was kneeled over on the ground holding her stomach with blood pooled near her mouth. Sasuke was leaning on the wall next to her, trying to stand up and ignore the large claw like gashes alone his chest and back. In front of him was Rosaria looking at Naruto who was nearly unharmed save for the single slash mark going from his left shoulder to his right hip.

"You seemed so confident earlier too, as to be expected of such a good team. However, I am one opponent you can't beat with teamwork alone" said Rosaria. She focused solely on Naruto, he was her prey now that everyone was immobilized or so she thought. Her mistake in forgetting about the jonin that masked his presence was made obvious when her left arm fell off and she was delivered a bone shattering kick to her right rib cage. The chakra enhanced kick shattering three ribs and sending her to the wall on her left. Kakashi let his leg down and Naruto pushed more energy into his daggers, making them seem to glow with odd black energy.

Rosaria pushed herself off the wall and growled "Your sneak attack was executed excellently, leaving no time for me to even defend myself. As expected of you but this is as far as you go, your team is in shambles, the two of you alone can't hope to kill me." As soon as she said that Rosaria cursed her luck, because once she did she felt a surge of demonic chakra from Yugito. Her attention turned to the girl who was standing slowly and walking to stand with their team, Sasuke following suit.

"No matter, zero plus zero will still leave you with nothing!" Rosaria appeared in front of Sasuke with her fist inches from his back but she was pushed back when Kakashi appeared, using his leg to push her across the floor. Once she stopped the vampire hand only a fraction of a second jump back and hug the wall, avoiding a blue fireball from Yugito. That move seemed to end her smug attitude as Naruto appeared in front of her and swung his daggers together, easily creating a deep 'X' gash on her chest. She responded in kind by grabbing the blonde head and slamming in into her knee then throwing him across the room. Once he was air born the woman deflected Kakashi's tanto with her claws and let her left hand connect with the man's chest, the fist cracking a few ribs and skidding him across the floor. In annoyance Rosaria dodged a small but fast lightning beam from Sasuke and unintentionally setting up her demise.

Yugito went for a kick to the woman's temple but Rosaria felt the shift in the wind and acted accordingly. She grabbed the girls leg, bruising it severely causing her to scream out just as the woman flung her at her throne, breaking the tall back piece. She narrowly dodged another lightning beam by Sasuke and set herself up exactly as she was needed. Once she stood it was too late, Kakashi and Naruto had already appeared on opposing ends of her, both not moving an inch as the room grew silent. Suddenly Rosaria's head slide off and fell to the ground before her body was set ablaze, her demonic energy destroying her body. Those who were still awake sighed, moving to help the injured. For the next thirty minutes they tended the their wounds, making sure Mika was mobile enough to walk out of the cave with the help of her two teammates.

Kakashi was well enough to move around, just running on half reserves, an immobile left arm and a few fractured ribs. Yugito was healing slowly, her ribs were mending at a slow rate along with her leg leaving her to limp slightly. Sasuke, with some of Hitome's chakra she transferred to him, was healing but it would be a while before he was anywhere near his peak. Naruto's ribs were healed enough to stop some of the pain of breathing but his charka reserves were low, he was running nearly all on Hitome's chakra to keep him moving. Now every member of team seven save Kakashi was radiating demonic chakra, either of their own or borrowed chakra. Mika's team was beat up but was in a little better shape, Keiko had only been knocked out and Amiya had wrapped up her gash to stop the bleeding. Kakashi had sewn Mika's would shut and used what minor medical ninjutsu he knew to stop the bleeding so she could make it home and rest.

They had slowly made their way through the cave and outside when an anbu appeared in front of them, kneeling the instant he appeared.

"Taicho, I was sent to deliver a message. Team eight has sent out an emergency distress signal in Wave, it appeared their mission to guard a bridge builder turned south when the demon brothers and Zabuza appeared. They are requesting assistance, can you provide it?"

"What is stopping you bird?" asked Kakashi, referring to his mask.

"I am en route to help an anbu team stuck in a bind between two hostile villages. It appears both will be moving for war, they need another man to help stop whoever is causing the conflicts before we have a small civil war near Iwa and Kumo's borders. Can you provide assistance taicho?" Kakashi looked over his team, the three seemed to noticed quickly and began to check their gear.

"What do you three think?" asked Kakashi.

"We will not say no to a Konoha ninja in need of assistance. You alone would be plenty sensei, even injured they already have Kurenai as a team leader what they need is someone to match Zabuza in strength. We should be fine as it is, with what _special _chakra I have left to access along with Yugito we should be able to operate on it and still share with Sasuke" said Naruto, acting his part as the head of the three.

"There's your answer, I assume the Hokage already knows we are moving that way?" asked Kakashi.

The anbu operative nodded his head "Yes sir, he expected that answer. I will accompany these three to the town down the path before I leave, there is no need to delay your departure."

Kakashi nodded his head "Thank you, get better you three. I will be in contact at a later date."

"Good luck to you Kakashi, let us know if you ever need assistance. We owe you much more than we can ever hope to repay" said Mika weakly. Team seven all bowed to the three before taking off through the forest at break neck speeds, moving much faster than they had in a while when traveling.

"We should arrive at Wave in a day's time, Wave is close to Konoha and where we are now shouldn't take too long at this pace" said the silver haired joinin receiving a chorus of 'Hai's' in return.

Dusk, a day later in Wave

Kurenai looked over her genin, they were enjoying the food made by Tsunami, their clients widows daughter. The client enjoyed the meal and a bottle of cheap liquor while his daughters son ate in silence. Then, a wave of demonic chakra rolled around them in such thickness it was almost suffocating her genin and Inari. Then a knock came to the door, causing Tsunami to jump and Kurenai to stand while her team all drew kunai. Kurenai answered the door, moving it aside slowly before sighing and stepping to the side to allow whoever knocked in. Once she did her team recognized Kakashi, a jonin that they had seen around the village during their academy days. What followed piqued their interest, Naruto, Yugito and Sasuke walked in but each excluded the unsettling chakra. They walked past Kakashi who stopped in the middle of the room and slid down the wall. Naruto in the middle, Yugito leaning her head on his right shoulder and Sasuke on the left, pulling his right leg close to his chest to rest is right arm on.

"Are you and your kids ok Kakashi?" asked Kurenai as she closed the door.

"We finished liberating the land of snow and went on a small side mission that proved much more difficult than we had anticipated. Because of that we're running on fumes, I have enough to work with and so do they but that's it. We need to move this alone before getting back to the village, these kids need a real medical ninja too look after them" said Kakashi before he sensed the small girl send out a pulse of chakra before speaking.

"Their bodies are straining to move Kakashi-san, each one has suffered internal injuries that are healing at a slow rate. They may be ok in the morning but with the chakra they have it looks like they have one fight left before they reach bottom" said Hinata getting a curious look from the jonin.

"I have studied in medical ninjutsu along with some basics of my clan, with my clan it would be helpful to become a medic" said Hinata. It wasn't so much what she said that caught Kakashi's attention, it was her lack of stuttering and shy nature. She was nothing like this in the academy from what he studied, she seemed like a separate person all together.

"I used some motivational speeches, a few genjutsu and a tough training regimen. It was long but worth it" said Kurenai and the other jonin nodded his head. With her shyness mostly gone and her stuttering pushed aside she was becoming a fine shinobi, not a prodigy but much better than what she would have turned out like if she stayed the same.

"They will last, there is more to them than you know" said Kakashi before he turned to his team and saw them drinking the bourbon Naruto had from the land of snow and sighed.

"Really?" asked Kakashi.

"You told us it would help and it does a little bit, besides it's not like its getting burned off at a fast rate anyway" said Naruto, hinting to Kakashi that the bijuu chakra was burning most of any liquid away as quickly as they drank it.

"While my team is still awake explain what you know so far."

"A few days ago we had fended off Zabuza of the seven swordsmen of the mist. We believe he is still alive and plans to move for us very soon since the bridge is almost finished. I barely made it out last time by using a small explosive seal to catch him off guard while he glanced to my team but I don't want to risk it again. I called for back-up knowing I would need it if he returned, and if he does I don't know that he'll be in the condition he was when we first fought."

"I see, so your team and ours will guard the bridge tomorrow while he finishes up so we can get out of here in the next day. I don't want to waste any time" said Kakashi before glancing at his genin. Each one was now fast asleep as he expected.

"I will get some rest myself, wake me when you and your team leave" said Kakashi before resting on the wall near his team and closing his lone eye, not wanting to sleep in a bed if his team couldn't.

The next morning

Naruto awoke to the sound of something hitting the floor near him. Peaking open an eye he saw Inari was laying near him, holding his head and screaming at two samurai holding his mother. Naruto paid no mind to the words the small boy was shouting and instead moved for the other men. They never noticed what happened, one second they felt a spike in chakra and the next the world turned black and the blond shoved his hidden bladed into the back of their necks. It was a quick and clean way to dispatch them in front of the kid, this way he didn't see any head rolling or body parts splattered all over the wall. By the time the bodies fell Yugito was helping Tsunami up and Sasuke was dragging the bodies out to set them ablaze.

"Are you alright?" asked Yugito, doing her best to keep her voice sounding normal and not influenced by her bijuu's chakra.

"Yes but my father is at the bridge! If they came here they'd come after them too!" shouted Tsunami in a panic. Yugito calmed the woman before turning to Naruto who nodded his head.

"We'll be back with your grandfather soon" said Naruto as he and Yugito walked out and met up with Sasuke. Naruto placed a hand on his shoulder before channeling a small portion of chakra to his body.

"It's amazing what such a small amount can do for someone who isn't used to it" said Sasuke, his pupils slitting as his sharingan activated.

"It is now let's go, there isn't much time" said Naruto before he took off, the others following close behind him. They moved as fast as they could in their state and Naruto spoke as they neared the bridge.

"Kakashi and Kurenai are facing off against Zabuza if I can sense correctly. Kiba, Shino and Hinata are fending off another opponent nearly similar in terms of strength with Zabuza. Do not go for a killing blow, we need a shock and awe tactic. I can feel a lot of movement outside of the area but I can't pinpoint who or what it is." Just as they touched down to the bridge Naruto was weaving hand signs.

"**Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)!" **shouted Naruto before a water dragon formed under them and went over the bridge before slamming down in front of the genin's opponent. The amount of water forced him to jump into the air which was a mistake on his part for as soon as he did Yugito was on him. They traded blow for blow before she used her flexible frame to spin in mid air and swing her leg down. In her current state the move was slow which gave their adversary plenty of time to bring his hands up to shield himself from any damage but the force of the kick pushed him down the bridge fast. He braced his legs with chakra which aided him from being injured but in focusing on that the boy barely had time to notice Sasuke. The two traded blow for blow, showing that even though Sasuke was injured he could keep up but not for long. A sharp pain shot through his leg when he put too much weight on it, leaving him open. The boy he was fighting saw the opening and shot out his hand towards Sasuke's chest but the attack never connected. Quicker than anyone present could hope to follow Naruto appeared between the two, slamming his palm into his opponents chest. The suddenness and power behind the attack pushed him back nearly thirty feet before he clutched his chest and looked at Naruto in shock.

"H-how did you do that?" asked Haku. Zabuza had glanced over when he felt the new arrivals and was surprised to see how they took on Haku. It was strange, his pupil was being pushed back like he was fighting some high ranking ninja. What really opened Zabuza's eyes was when one with a blue suit appeared between his teammate and Haku in an instant before hitting him with an open palm. Zabuza was going to watch more but he swung his sword when he felt Kakashi near him, a mistake that cost him dearly. He hit nothing but air for he swung too late, Kakashi was in front of him, already delivering the 'X' slash on his chest. Zabuza growled out and tensed his arm to bring his sword closer however it never happened because Kakashi delivered a drop kick to his chest, sending him flying across the bridge. Only by some miracle was he able to stop himself by channeling chakra to his feet before he fell off the edge. It wasn't a far fall but leaving Haku alone right now was ill advised, the Kakashi that stood in front of him was nothing like the rumors traveling through the nations and his team was nothing to laugh at. He saw them move again before the one in blue held up a hand then pointed behind them. They turned and Zabuza narrowed his eyes, two hundred thugs and Gato stood on the other side.

"I knew you would be hard pressed like last time to defeat these children and a few adult ninja so I hired insurance or more like a cleanup squad. They'll take the job and your pay from here" said Gato with wicked smirk.

"I assume you were employed to him" said Kakashi, still keeping his distance.

"I was, now it seems I no longer have any reason to kill the bridge builder but I do have a reason to kill that short little cretin" said Zabuza, making Gato yelp before running behind his two hundred strong group of thugs.

"Haku, up for some more?" asked Zabuza who turned to face the thugs. Haku responded by summoned ice senbon and leaning forward to move while Zabuza held his sword tighter and turned to face the small militia.

"It seems we now share a common enemy Zabuza, shall we dance a little more?" asked the jonin, moving to stand beside him, his team and Kurenai's doing the same.

"I don't see why not" said Zabuza with a wicked grin covered by the cloth around his mouth before everyone charged. It was considered wholesale slaughter, no one was left standing after they finished. Even though team eight was emptying their stomachs over the side of the bridge Zabuza had to admit these Konoha ninja were not too bad in his book.

"I won't follow you Zabuza and I won't report anything of your movements just read this scroll is all I ask" said Kakashi, handing them a light blue scroll with a kanji no one else could see.

"If that'll get me out of here so be it, Gato's place is not to far in the forest to the north. We'll take our pay and leave the rest for you guys as an apology for the battle" said Zabuza before he and Haku left.

"That was…odd" said Yugito.

"It was, I never was taught to made any deal like that with the enemy" said Kurenai.

"At the moment, he was simply a rouge ninja. I actually have just enough chakra to function as of now, fighting him and his friend would not end well for any of us. I've had that happen a few other times in anbu, if your opponent's client backs out they usual just leave. You will most likely never see one another again and whatever they were doing matter if they get no benefit from it. At that point it's just killing to kill, not to gain anything which many rouges refuse to do. It's wasting time for them to find another job to do and knowing Zabuza he'll return to the mist since things have calmed down. Let's get this guard mission over with, we'll leave as soon as it's done" said the ex-anbu captain. Kurenai only shrugged, she truly didn't care why he left, only that he was out of the problem for now. The Konoha ninja stayed around for another few hours, team eight speeding up the process dramatically with the extra man power to help move things around quicker. Once they had finished they gave their farewells then disembarked quickly, wanting to get home soon.

In the hokage's office

"Well, it seems your genin are much more durable than I came to believe. You have proven yourselves to be a strong team together and even better comrades by assisting your fellow ninja knowing you were running on fumes. Good job team seven, you will be paid accordingly within the following twelve hours. I have also taken the liberty to send your chunin exam papers to your house, the event will take place in a month and a half. Now, you are dismissed. Kai, follow the children to the hospital. We can't have them pass out before they make it there" said the hokage. An older man nodded his head and stood before tailing the genin team to the medical building while Kakashi stayed behind.

"Did you offer Zabuza a position?"

"Of course, I await his response. I also offered the three girls one as contacts, it will be good to have eyes and ears in many places" said Kakashi.

Hiruzen sighed "I do apologize Kakashi for asking that of your team. I knew you were close by and at the time I had anbu patrolling the area near Iwa on some rumors or on missions."

Kakashi waved his hand and let out a yawn "To be honest it was good for them, it let me test their will. They had the will to keep going to help their comrades, just what I hoped from them. Now, I think it's time I get going. I need some rest myself."

Hiruzen chuckled "I will see you in a month Kakashi." The jonin nodded his head then bowed before disappearing in a swirl of leaves.

A few hours later

"So we've got a month and a half to train for those exams" said Naruto to Yugito and Sasuke in hospital beds as nurses bandages them up.

"It seems so, we need to train as hard as we can, what we know now is very little. We need to get better at what we have and expand on what we excel in, we'll be under prepared facing off against older teams as it is" said Sasuke.

"We should get more training from Ezio too, he might know a few things that may help us a lot in a tough spot" said Yugito.

"We'll stop by his place on the way home when they let us out. Let's rest up, we've got a long month and a half ahead of us" said Naruto, his team silently agreeing with him as they let sleep take over.

**Chapter four is already done! I haven't written that much for one story since I started The Next Legend a few years ago! Feels great to get so much done! I don't know when a new update will come out but don't wait up, these two will be the last I do before college so my time will be shortened severely on writing time. Have a good day everyone!**


	5. Chapter 5

Key:

"Naruto"-speaking of humans and demons in human form

'_Naruto'_-thinking of humans and demons in human form

"**Naruto"**-Demon speaking in demon form and any attacks

"_Naruto"_-Demons thinking in demon form

"_**Naruto"**_-anyone speaking through a mental link

'_It's such an amazing thing to be loved for who you are' _–Debra Winger

Chapter 5

Naruto, Sasuke and Yugito fell to their knees, emptying whatever breakfast they ate. As the genin emptied their stomachs Kakashi jogged to a stop beside them, his breathing only slightly labored.

"That's a good enough morning warm up, meet me at the house for lunch" said Kakashi before walking off, leaving his genin to regain their composure. The three stayed like that for a few second longer before slowly standing up, their muscles screaming in pain as they did.

"I can't believe this is what he had in mind" said Yugtio, hunched over with her hands on her knees.

"He's a slave driver" said Sasuke, slowly moving his hand from his knees to his sides as he stood upright.

"It'll be beneficial in the long run, with this kind of conditioning and training we'll get throughout the month we should be more than prepared to face the others in the chunin exams" said Naruto, helping Yugito stand fully upright.

"It's not like we can back out now, we signed that contract stating if we gave up he would revoke our anbu rights" said Sasuke.

"We wouldn't give up anyway" said Naruto, not enjoying hot sun on his bare back. The genin were only aloud a minimal amount of clothing to wear during training unless it was weights. Both Sasuke and Naruto wore just plain anbu pants and blue ninja sandals while Yugito wore a blue sports bra, white shorts and black heeled ninja sandals. The three slowly made their way across the training field and took a short shower before gathering in the dining room in the main house. Kakashi turned his head slightly, allowing his only open eye to look at his students. The three wore the same cloths but just put on plain white tank tops before taking a seat at the table while he continued to make lunch.

"Fish?" asked Yugito as they examined the table, noticing an extra set plate next to Sasuke.

"It'll be good to get some protein in you before we begin jutsu training" said Kakashi. He himself wore his usual jonin garb, his blue long sleeved shirt and pants and unlike his students he had no shoes on but he did keep his mask and kept his sharingan eye closed.

"What's the extra plate for sensei?" asked Sasuke. Kakashi was about to speak until he felt Naruto's chakra spike and felt his chakra begin to mold. The jonin turned his head again to see what had caused his student to do such a thing only to suppress a sigh when he noticed someone now kneeling next to Naruto, holding his fingers together so he couldn't weave any hand signs.

"Ah, your finally here" said Kakashi, turning back to the food.

"It's not nice to attack someone in their own home" said the newcomer, taking off his cloak and sitting next to Sasuke. The genin didn't dare move, all three were now frozen in fear as the man they never expected to meet here slowly sat down and looked at the genin.

"Is there a problem?" asked the person of interest.

"H-how?" asked Sasuke, still not taking action only because his sensei hadn't. If Kakashi treated as a normal occurrence then there was something he wasn't informed about.

"Remember the group I spoke about that we were creating from orders by the third hokage? He's one of the first members, as I'm sure you know his name, it's Itachi Uchiha" said Kakashi as he began to put a scope of rice and a strip of chicken on everyone's plate.

"I'm sure there are many questions regarding me but at least finish the meal first. I will explain later" said Itachi before he began to eat along with Kakashi. The genin remained frozen, still in shock before finally shaking it off. Sasuke raised his fist to slam it on the table but a cough from Kakashi caused him to stop.

"I think we should explain things now, a brief one of course. You already wrote out the entire explanation" said Kakashi.

Itachi turned to Sasuke and deactivated his sharingan "I'm sure you remember what I told you correct?"

Sasuke nodded his head "It also seems you took a different path, one without using hate to kill me. I had only planned ahead for one scenario, this way was never something I thought of. I told you to hate me so you would have a goal to reach, to kill me was a goal I knew could reach but it was also a goal that would make you strong. That strength would allow you to protect those you hold dear to you as long as possible. I have my strength because I chose to protect Konoha and her people, to never waver even in the face of Kami. I am one of the true shinobi as Lord Third has said, someone who would serve well in a position amongst his most elite group.

A week before I did what I am now famous for I was asked to join this group, he said there was no name for it, only that it was a group that expanded through village barriers. There are members all throughout the elemental nations, spread through ever rank and even those rouge who walk the lands. I agreed, hoping to one day meet many members of this group Lord Third said were similar to me but I didn't expect it to be so soon. Danzo issued the mission, I followed through knowing there was possibly an alternative but this way Sasuke would live to carry on the legacy of Uchiha.

I know you three are coming along well as new members, I will enjoy seeing your progress but I must apologize to you all. If we meet and I am not alone I will not show mercy, you will not die but my partner and I will show you how strong top tier S-rank ninja are."

Sasuke seemed to ponder his older brothers words before shutting his eyes tightly "I don't like what you've said, how this Danzo man used you, but I'll respect the Third Hokage's wishes."

Naruto smiled "That's the answer I hoped you would say, but I have some bad news of my own." This had gotten everyone's attention, even Itachi's.

"A friend wants to talk to you, Itachi." Just as he spoke those words Itachi noticed everyone around them fade away and he was left standing in a grassy field. Naruto stood in front of him, flanked by a woman he had only heard stories of from the Third in case they ever met.

"Ah, Hitome-sama, a pleasure to finally meet you" said Itachi with a short nod of his head.

Hitome nodded her head back "I need a favor from you Itachi, something I know you may refuse. There is a scroll in Uzushiogakure, deep within the basement of the central office. It sits upon a pedistool, encased in a multilayered genjutsu. That scroll contains sealing techniques the Uzumaki kept hidden from all but my container and after Kushina left it was put under lock and key. This was written by Mito Uzumaki, even I only know one seal from that entire scroll and it could cripple an entire village." That put things into perspective for Itachi, he wonders what they could do but one seal to cripple a village? That was the reason she asked him, if he went there was little chance anything would go wrong or for someone to steal it off his person.

"I will look into it within the month, we are heading that direction to meet with another members contact for information. I will break off to get the scroll and deliver it once we meet again" said Itachi and Hitome nodded her head before snapping her fingers and the world shattered, revealing them in the same position.

"What was it you wanted to tell us?" asked Yugito.

"Hitome already told those who need to know" said Naruto.

Itachi glanced to the clock and sighed before standing "I need to be leaving, my partner will begin to look for me soon enough. In each of your rooms are scrolls detailing important information Lord Third cannot tell you but I am have not taken an oath of silence on the matter. Train well, I await to see you three running ahead of me" said Itachi, patting Sasuke on the head before grabbing his cloak and disappearing.

"I would have never guessed he was part of our group" said Yugito, finally regaining her composer before beginning to eat.

"We have many members spread throughout the nations, only the Hokage knows who everyone is and where everyone is" said Kakashi.

"Are you alright Sasuke?" asked Naruto between bits.

The Uchiha nodded his head, using his arm to wipe a tear away "It's just…relieving knowing some of the story and knowing I have a chance to get to know my brother more."

"Eat up and then we'll resume training, you can read the scrolls after we're finished" said Kakashi, receiving a nod of each of his genin's heads.

One month later

The exam room was loud, multiple groups from villages meeting up and talking to one another, a perfect time for some. This perfect time wasn't the somewhat friendly atmosphere created by the groups but the noise and attention that was directed to them. While everyone was mostly occupied three figures seemingly appeared from the shadowed corner of the room and took a seat.

"We've gotten better at that camouflage" said Yugito.

"Not good enough" said Sasuke, motioning to the red headed boy staring at them. His face held a neutral expression but he eyes, they seemed to show some mild curiosity but it wasn't directed at them.

"He houses the Ichibi and from what I can tell his seal is meant to allow the bijuu to take over at some point. His bijuu would have sensed my arrival and told him where we were."

"_**The Ichibi protects its host using sand, so nearly all of his jutsu will be with sand thanks to the raccoon" **_said Hitome, using the mental link she now had with all three of them thanks to a seal Kushina had created with Jiraiya. The three would have continued their conversation but they stayed silent when the jonin proctor for the exam appeared at the front of the class, flanked by the chunin exam monitors.

"Everyone get your ass in a seat and quit the babbling!" shouted the scared man, causing those standing to take a seat.

The burly man seemed pleased with the speed of the genin before he spoke again "I am Ibiki, your first exam proctor. You have one hour to answer nine written questions before I give the tenth question verbally and cheating is not allowed. I repeat, cheating is not allowed! Each time you're caught you get minus twenty five points, once you've gotten caught four times your kicked out. Simple rules for a simple exam, good luck and don't do anything stupid." The man slowly walked around the tables, passing out papers before stopping at team sevens table.

"No hoods allowed" said Ibiki and the three took their hoods off, gaining the attention of the other genin. When their hoods fell many Konoha genin were shocked, they would have never guessed Naruto and Sasuke to be those in the back.

"Better?" asked Naruto.

Ibiki crumbled up his paper and set it on his desk "Much better." Naruto showed no outward emotion but inside was a different story all together.

"_**I'm going to enjoy this" **_said Naruto causing Hitome to smirk.

'_I'll cast a kistune genjutsu over this area, take out anyone not from Konoha and steal the answers' _said Naruto using anbu code under the desk. Ibiki was watching a group of student attempting to share answers but doing an absolutely horrid job at it that he almost laughed. The man stood and was about to speak when a monitor appeared next to him.

"Sir, we believe someone has cast a genjutsu over the area" he whispered into the former anbu's ear. Ibiki sighed and held up a half ram sign before pushing his chakra outward, causing the back of the room to shimmer and a scene he didn't expect appeared. There was team nine from Konoha, now sitting in shock in the corner of the room, noticing everyone in front of them and next to them was out cold.

Ibiki smirked "Whichever genin team that was, good job. I expect three very nice exam sheets within the next thirty minutes." He knew exactly who it was, that team Kakashi made was the most likely candidate to create a genjutsu under his nose and still not get caught. He remained quiet for the remainder of the exam, only watching as a few teams were kicked out from being caught one too many times.

"Times up, put your pencils down" said Ibiki as he stood, the room occupants doing as asked.

"Can we go yet?" asked Kiba, a feral looking Konoha genin with a small dog perched on top of his head.

"Don't ask stupid questions" said a proctor next to him.

"Alright, before I get to the question there are some rules. Rule one, only one member can answer and if they get it wrong you are permanently barred from taking the exams from here on out. You have the choice to leave now and save yourself, just in case you know you can't get it right or your just playing your cards differently." He watched with a mask of indifference as almost half the room left before Kiba spoke up again.

"This is a load of bull!"

"I can do what I please!" Ibiki shouted back.

"You can't bar us from taking it in another village" responded Temari.

"I very well can, all I have to do is give names and villages of each of you who gets it wrong."

"Sure you can" said Naruto, leaning back in his chair, folding his hand behind his head. Ibiki stared the boy down, he rarely got anyone that openly defied him in this exam but once he stared them down they broke. However, this wasn't the case with the Uzumaki. He held his neutral look firm, dragging the stare down out for nearly a full minute before the proctor spoke again.

"Ok, that's enough wait time. The final question is…..you pass. There is none, this was a test, a test to see your will. This was to test if you could make a decision shinobi make every day, the only difference is they don't have the option to back out and walk home care free. I know it seems-" He was cut off when two kunai shot through the window and stuck to the wall, pinning up a banner that read 'Sexy and Single Mitarashi Anko.'

"You're early" said Ibiki from behind the banner.

"And you left to many of them!" responded Anko before surveying the group then smirked.

"No worries, I'll cut this down by half in no time! Follow me, you've got five minutes after I land to be where I'm at or you're kicked!" With that Anko shot off through the window, the genin shooting off after her as fast as they could.

**Forest of Death**

"Welcome to my play ground, training ground 44, or the forest of death!" said Anko excitedly. She saw the pale faces and scared looks of many genin but one team piqued her interest. The team she called the mini anbu squad seemed too excited as they looked at the forest.

'_That's right, the anbu trained here. I might see some exciting things after all' _thought the female jonin before speaking out loud again.

"My rules are easy to follow, each one of you gets either a heaven or earth scroll. You need both to enter the tower at the other side so there's half of you not going to make it out with a scroll or with your life. Anything goes besides attacking any proctor roaming the area, they are only there to prevent a total massacre. One member come grab a scroll then line up at the gate you've been assigned too." With that Anko stepped down and began to hand out waivers as they received their scrolls. Naruto's team signed their papers then lined up at the gate to discuss a plan of action.

"The lowest chakra signatures are a team from Kiri, they have the heaven scroll and we have the earth. This should be easy for us, we'll use the Beta formation to take them down" said Naruto.

"Are we going in hot?" asked Yugito.

Sasuke shook his head "We'll give them a chance before that, I don't want needless bloodshed."

"Agreed, but if they start to throw around jutsu you all have a green light. I don't want any major injuries in this" said Naruto and the others nodded their heads. The groups slowly lined up at the gate, muscles tensed and prepared to take off.

"On your marks…..Go!" shouted Anko before the gates opened, each team shooting off into the forest sure to claim some lives. Team seven nearly b-lined across the forest, easily navigating the confusing jungle. When they had begun anbu, each group had to create a map of their own part of the forest then give it to another to read off it and repeating multiple times. They knew this place better than anyone, or so they thought. Within only a few minutes of going into the forest they found their prey, planning their moves near a river.

"Ready?" asked Naruto as they all pulled their scarf's and hoods up.

"Ready" said Sasuke, checking his gear.

"Ready" said Yugito, retracting her hidden blades. They didn't speak again, they only faded away before moving in. The Kiri team of fresh genin was planning out what to do, how to move out and what to eat when two of those cloaked genin from Konoha appeared out of thin air, flanking them.

"Hand over your scroll please, we don't want any trouble" said Sasuke.

"Go to hell, **Suiton-" **the tallest genin was cut off when an arrow pierced his throat, silencing him before he fell to the ground. The other two knowing an archer was nearby chose to move, dashing towards their opponents. Sasuke easily stopped his attackers arm, pulled it close to him before flipping her over his shoulder. She shut her eyes tightly in pain when her back slammed onto the ground and never had time to react to the hidden gauntlet blade thrust into her throat. Yugito's attacker didn't fare any better, he tried to send her sprawling with a roundhouse kick which Yugito caught. Then, she followed up by snapping his leg at the knee with her elbow, pulled him forward and grasped his arm as he tried to punch her before she used her cat like flexibility. The Kiri genin didn't expect her to pull his arm down, turn around, flip up, then kick his chin hard enough to snap his neck. The instant the snap was heard Yuigto dropped to the ground and stood up, brushing some dirt off her shoulder. Not even a second later Naruto appeared next to the man he killed, searching his body while his teammates followed suit.

"Found it" said Yugito, pocketing the scroll just as Naruto pulled a kunai off the body he was searching and threw it at a branch where he used to be perched at.

"What is it?" asked Sasuke, two kunai already in hand.

"Nothing, I thought I sensed someone there for a moment" said the blond boy.

"Is that it?" asked Yugito.

"Yeah, let's head to the tower. No need in staying out, the exam's purpose will thin out enough of the competition" said Naruto, taking off into the forest with his team following behind.

Orochimaru fazed into existence right next to the kunai, chuckling "Such interesting genin. I wonder how they'll fair in a real fight."

With team seven

"I wonder if we'll come across any teams from Kumo" said Yugito.

"There's a team ahead, set to ambush us. One above in five meters, one on the right in ten and another on the left in fifteen, I'll get the one above" said Naruto before he skyrocketed upwards. Sasuke darted right and Yugito sped up, shifting left slightly. She flipped in mid air, her nails extending as she did, and jutting them to her left. As soon a she did they raked across a tree and left a deep gash in one genin's chest. Once she passed her opponent she skidded to a stop on the branch he was on, readying a kunai. The blonde was pleased to see her adversary kneeling but she frowned when she noticed the Kumo head band.

"I knew you were just like everyone else said, a monster that attacks her own people" said the boy, holding his chest as he lifted his head to glare at her.

"I-I didn't know!" shouted Yugito moving to help him only to freeze, seeing blue beads in his arm outstretched to her.

"You know what these are, huh? Remember all that pain they caused, all the memories rushing in and allowing you to see your place in this world again!" said the genin as a maniacal grin spread across his face and Yugito fell to her knees, tears falling and shaking like a leaf. The genin moved forward only to fall off the tree courtesy of a devastating kick to the head from Naruto. He tossed the other tied up genin with him, spitting at the two before turning to Yugito. She was slowly standing when Naruto got to her and helped her up.

"What was that about?" asked Sasuke as he appeared next to them, tossing his opponent down to the other two.

"One of them brought the beads they used to control her bijuu" said Naruto before Sasuke flared his chakra, his two tome sharingan spinning to life.

"Stop" said Yugito, halting his hands moving to form seals.

"Are you ok?" asked Naruto.

"I'll be fine, it's just something I'm not over. Let's get going" said Yugito, shaking her head and wiping her tears away.

"Alright" said Naruto, nodding to Sasuke before they took off into the forest again, heading straight for the tower.

Five minutes later

Team seven had only made it to a larger clearing when Naruto held his hand out for them to stop.

"Good sensory skills" said someone as they faded into existence in the middle of the clearing.

'_That's a move only Ezio and the sanin should know…and if he's a sanin then it's got to be….great' _thought Naruto.

"What brings you here Orochimaru?" asked Naruto. Orochimaru smirked when he heard his name called then chuckled when he noticed the boys teammates tense up.

"Just in the area, thought I'd come say hi. Test out how strong this year's genin are" responded the snake like man, his long tongue slithering out for a second.

"I'd advise you to leave, I've already signaled anbu" said Naruto, trying to scare the man but he only received a chuckle in return.

"I noticed it, but the real question is will you be alive to greet them?" Naruto only had time to duck his head, allowing a kick to fly over his head. However, Naruto had forgotten how flexible and experienced the sanin was. As his kick flew over Orochimaru spun, using his other foot to kick Naruto into an adjacent tree. With that the sanin landed before shooting off towards the clearing now behind him, evading an attack from Sasuke and Yugito. He landed softly and skidded to a stop, his grin widening as he looked to the remaining two.

"Not too bad, but your lacking in speed."

"Really?" said a voice behind him before he felt a blade pierce his lung before he dissolved into mud. Naruto jumped forward and spun around, landing near the tree he used to stand on just as his teammates landed next to him.

"Much better" said the sanin, seemingly faded out from a large tree across the clearing.

"Don't hold back and move together" said Naruto before all three took off. Orochimaru only stood still, an amused smirk pulling its way onto his face as the children neared him. He blocked a straight forward punch from Naruto with his left and caught Sasuke's with his right but he slid back to dodge Yugito's heel kick from above.

"**Seneijashu (Hidden Shadow Snake Hand)" **said Orochimaru, a few dozen snakes slithering out of his sleeve and at the three.

"**Katon: Hosenka no Jutsu (Fire release - Art of the Phoenix Flower)" **said Yugito, shooting out small pockets of fire to burn the snakes to a crisps. Orochimaru regurgitated his sword ,Kusanagi, and pointed at Naruto, challenging him. Naruto drew two kunai and charged, hoping to stall as long as he could. The sanin was surprised at the outcome, the boy was holding his own, albeit the sanin was going easy on him. Naruto tried to stab the sword, intent on getting it to hit the ground but he misjudged the power his opponent had. When he did Orochimaru pushed through the attack and slammed the sword through the blonde's gut, that was until he substituted himself with a nearby log.

That's when Orochimaru noticed it, the build-up of chakra but by now it was too late. Sasuke had forgone his top and charged the sanin shirtless as he fought Naruto, lightning coursing around his entire body. As soon as Naruto substituted he moved in, appearing just a few feet from the man.

"**Shunko(War Cry)!" **shouted Sasuke before lightning exploded outwards from his palm, spanning nearly ten feet wide and going back almost double its width. Once the attack died down Sasuke stood up, breathing heavy from the amount of chakra he used for the attack. He looked for any trace of the sanin and noticed nothing stood out, that is until he felt sharp teeth sink into his neck and the world turned black.

"Sasuke!" shouted Naruto before he took off, Hitome's chakra enhancing every movement he made. Orochimaru pulled his fangs back and retracted his neck as the boys teammates appeared next to him, Naruto taking up a defensive stance and Yugito moving to see if he was alright.

"A parting gift, next time we meet try not to hold all those wonderful moves I know you all can do. Farewell" said the sanin before he faded into the darkness.

Naruto growled and moved to chase until Hitome spoke _**"Tend to your fallen comrade, chasing him now will only result in needless injury. Next time try to do as I said and use your daggers, they may have helped you beat him off longer."**_

"_**I know we'll see him soon, I need some kind of trump cards in case he decides not to play with us" **_responded Naruto before turning to see how Sasuke was doing.

"He's out cold and where Orochimaru bit him a seal popped up. His temperature is spiking and his chakra keeps fluctuating" said Yugito, using her basic knowledge of medical ninjutsu to do a scan of his body.

"We'll head to the tower, it's not far from here" said Naruto, moving to pick up Sasuke but he stopped when he felt more chakra signatures appear.

"Look what we have here, some injured genin kiddies" said Zaku of Kusa just as Dosu and Kin arrived next to him.

"What do you want?" asked Naruto, moving to stand in front of Yugito and Sasuke.

"Just your scroll, and maybe a good time" responded Zaku with a lecherous grin. Naruto had only taken a sliver of Hitome's chakra previously to boost his speed for a moment but when he said that Hitome's chakra flooded his system and the surrounding area. While training a bit with pulling out her chakra they realized when he was in deep emotional distress the seal allowed more chakra to seep through for a moment. The genin standing on the branch above Naruto flinched in fear, this chakra was dark….darker than anything they had experienced before.

"**You…..you'll die first"** said Naruto, lifting his head up to show two crimson eyes glowing through the shadow veil created by his hood. Then, faster than they could blink Naruto was on them, thrusting a kunai into Zaku's stomach. Then he grabbed both his arms, pushed his feet onto the boys chest and pulled, dislocating his arms. Naruto set his left foot down just as he slapped an explosive note to Zaku's chest then delivered a roundhouse to his head, sending him into Dosu and Kin. Just as he hit Dosu Naruto jumped down and slid next to Yugito, drawing two kunai as he stood. The bandages up boy that Zaku slammed into peeled off the tag and threw it in the air just as it exploded, the shockwave sending them sprawling to the ground. Kin grabbed Zaku and both landed hard, only Dosu had landed on his feet. He glanced at his teammates trying to get up then back to his opponent who seemed all to calm while watching him with those black slit pupils, just like a predator would his prey. Except right now he was testing the waters, after all, he already took care of the boy who bad mouthed that girl. That reminded him, she hadn't even stepped in yet so it seemed this fight wouldn't get anywhere.

"Grab Zaku, we're leaving" said Dosu, getting a shocked look from his female partner.

"We can take them! He only surprised us!" said Kin.

"**I alone have taken out one member, my partner has yet to even enter the field of battle. Don't foolishly throw your life away"** said Naruto, his voice influenced by his bijuu's chakra. Kin opened her mouth to speak but fell silent when Dosu knocked her out, throwing her over his shoulder and picking up his other teammate.

"Thank you for letting us leave" said Dosu with a bow of his head, trying his best not to provoke the boy and his partner now.

"**I have settled my score with your teammate, you have done nothing to warrant any action. Leave now please, I have little patience for you at the moment." **Dosu nodded his head then disappeared in a shunshin, leaving team seven alone once more in the clearing.

"Are you ok?" asked Yugito.

Naruto nodded his head, feeling Hitome's chakra leave him "I am much better, now let's get to it. I'll carry him, you stay next to me." The girl nodded her head, standing as Naruto slung Sasuke's arm over his shoulder and stood.

"Stay close" said Naruto before he took off with Yugito right at his side.

**Tower **

"Thanks for getting here so fast sensei" said Naruto, now all of team seven was surrounding Sasuke who lay in his bed.

"It's called a curse seal created by Orochimaru, we don't know too much about it but it does have controlling properties and activates on the users will. In early stages we've gathered it will only activate if the user accesses chakra when their reserves are low, its fail safe is to protect its user. However, the power can twist one's mind, it try's to pull one towards the sanin in the promise of power" said Kakashi.

'_This is similar to Anko's seal but much more complex than her's, it's good Lord Jiraiya is in the village. I'll send for him to see Sasuke after his match' _thought Kakashi.

"So he can negate it, with no need to use its power until we seal it or destroy it" said Naruto.

"From what I know, that should work just fine but the second stage will start soon. Four days isn't enough to recover from this and regain his chakra."

"The Perv owes me a new one" said Naruto before he pulled out a seal and placed it on Sasuke's still bare chest. Once it touched his skin the seal glowed then spread out across his chest, moving all around his arms, legs and face before the seal glowed a faint blue color. The seal stayed that way for almost thirty second before the paper burned away, the seals fading with it and just as quickly as the seals faded Sasuke jolted upright.

"Welcome back, have a nice nap?" asked Naruto.

Sasuke gripped his head in pain "Wha-What happened? Where are we?"

"Snake man kissed your neck then you passed out" said Yugito causing Naruto to burst out laughing, Kakashi to chuckle a bit and Sasuke's face to light up bright red.

"Pure gold, Yugito" said Naruto, regaining his composure.

"I try" responded Yugito with a smile.

"Guys, what really happened?" asked Sasuke.

"Orochimaru planted a cursed seal on you, which will activate when you run low on chakra and try to access any of it. It also activated in near death experiences to save its host, however, if you will is strong enough you can stop it." said Kakashi.

Sasuke rubbed his neck where the seal lay "Is there any way to get rid of it?"

"At the moment no, but a seal master has arrived recently. I'll bring him here to look at you after this stage is over with. I believe Naruto gave you a chakra replenishing seal so you should be fine as long as you refrain from using too much chakra. Naruto I wo-" Kakashi was cut off when an anbu appeared next to him.

"Sir, we've found Anko with low chakra reserves outside the forest. She'll need medical attention, we need a proctor for the next three days sir."

"I'll go, watch over Anko and inform me when her condition improves" said Kakashi before he and the anbu disappeared in a swirl of leaves.

"I guess he won't be around until later on" said Naruto before he noticed his teammates tense up.

"Relax, it's just Akahana" said Naruto, a cloaked figure stepped out from behind Naruto.

"What's up?" asked team seven's second in command.

"The Hokage has given me some time off to speak with you all" said Akahana, removing her hood and letting her now white hair fall down and her amber eyes to gleam at them.

"Ah! You've gotten all those disguises finally off!" said Naruto and the girl nodded her head.

"I've just been checking up on contacts recently so I didn't need to dye my hair or keep those contacts in." Sasuke stayed mute in the entire encounter, he thought how she looked now made her look even better than before. Yugito remained neutral, she held no hate for her nor cared her appearance changed. However, she best keep her eyes away from Naruto if she knew what was good for her.

"Put clothes on Sasuke, there's a women here" said Yugito, causing Sasuke to notice his lack of clothing. Akahana also took notice in his upper chest region before her face flushed red and she moved her hand to cover her eyes but if one looked close you could see her eye peaking through a small crack.

"Aw, look at the two love birds" said Naruto once Sasuke had the rest of his cloak on.

"At least we don't sleep in the same sleeping bag on missions" said Sasuke who smirked when Yugito's face flushed.

"Meh, that just means we've accepted it. You two haven't, so we'll leave you alone" said Naruto, grabbing Yugito and disappearing in a burst of speed.

"I can't believe it….he actually left" said Sasuke in disbelief.

"Um….if it's not too much to ask….is it ok if we talked?" asked Akahana and Sasuke looked to her. She immediately looked down, hiding her blush.

The Uchiha smiled "Why not? Pull up a chair and talk away." Akahana looked to him and smiled before grabbing a chair and placing it in front of him.

"What do you want to talk about?" asked the young girl.

"What's your clan name? I never caught that" said Sasuke.

Akahana looked down "I am…..one of, if not the only, survivor of the Kaguya clan. We were a war like clan, only craving battle for the sake of spilling blood as much as possible. I escaped at a young age, Ezio took me in and teaching me his ways. I learned of ways that were akin to me and embraced them, wanting nothing to do with my clan. When I learned of their death I was pleased, they didn't deserve to live like they were."

Sasuke remained silent, until she stopped "Did you inherit….her power?" Akahana held her hand out, a bone pike forming from her palm before receding.

"I am no master but I have learned what I can through the scrolls and experimentation. I-I….fear…..what I may become…..if I keep going as I am…..my bloodlust grows at times" said Akahana, tears beginning to fall before she felt Sasuke wrap his arms around her frame.

"Bloodlust isn't always a bad thing if one can control it, have you ever seen Naruto fight when he really craves destruction?"

Akahana shook her head "Stay with us for his fight, he might get upset if he sees that Kiri team. You'll see how he uses it in a good way. Now, keep talking. Let everything out."

Four Days later

"I congratulate you all on making it this far however with such a turn out we'll have to level out some of the competition by having a preliminary match. If anyone feels they are unfit please raise your hand" said the Hokage, only a boy known as Kabuto had forfeited for chakra exhaustion. After he left, a sickly man wearing a jonin outfit stepped forward and began to speak.

"My name is Gekkou Hayate, I will be the proctor for this match and the third round. The rules are rather simple, fight until one is left standing or I end the match. I can end the match any time I see someone has no chance of winning, the board above us will decide who will go first." After he finished the board above began to file through names before it landed on two.

"Naruto Uzumaki and Kai Akama please stay here, everyone else take a place in the stands behind you all" said Hayate. The genin slowly filed away and only two stood across from one another, Naruto and the Kiri genin that had brought the beads to Yugito.

"Begin!" shouted Hayate before he let his hand drop and both boys smirked.

"You got the drop on me just like how you got your scroll, let's see you fight one on one!" said Kai. Naruto's smile grew larger and in one quick burst, his chakra shot out, vibrating the floor slightly with it's weight.

His now slit pupils narrowed and his smirk widened "Come then, let me end your pathetic life." Kai growled and charged the blonde, his fatal mistake. Kai tried to use his 'superior speed' to hit Naruto square in the jaw, something that Naruto saw from a mile away. As soon as his fist within a few feet Naruto moved, grabbing the boys fist the moving his other arm next to his elbow and snapping it up. The Kumo genin tried kick him and it back fired once again, Naruto kicked his knee just right to snap it out of place. The Konoha genin let go of his opponents arm, causing him to fall as he moved behind him, looking to Yugito. He waited for a reaction until he noticed, just the slightest narrowing of her eyes as she glared at him.

"_**As you wish" **_said Naruto through the mental link he shared with his teammates. Yugito didn't respond as he walked up to the genin, now leaning on his other knee and weaving hand signs.

"I'll kill you yet!" shouted Kai but his jonin sensei knew better.

"Stop the match!"

SNAP

No one moved as Kai's lifeless body fell to the floor, his teammates, jonin sensei and many others looked on in disbelief as Naruto looked to his teammates with his eyes now glowing red.

"**Whoops, hand slipped" **said Naruto before he turned to Hayate.

"W-Winner Naruto Uzumaki" said the jonin as medics moved to pick the boy up. There was no helping him but it was best to move him and let his sensei decide what to do with him. As Naruto moved to walk up the stairs he sensed Kai's jonin sensei move on him, a wrong move. Kai's sensei never saw it coming, he charged Naruto but suddenly he was facing the business end of an anbu sword, specifically a cat masked anbu sword.

"Stand down jonin, I don't want to make a mess here" said Neko. The jonin wisely stood down and left, signally for his own team to follow suit. He knew it best to leave, spending too much time there already after what he did. As Naruto walked Sasuke spoke to seemingly nothing, but actually speaking to Akahana who had melded into his shadow behind him.

"See what I mean? It's not always bad if you can control it, that' the key to mostly everything" said Sasuke, greeting Naruto as he arrived.

"You're up" said Naruto and Sasuke looked to the board to see both his name and Kiba Inuzuka.

"Lucky match, we get fight the Uchiha while he's all tuckered out!" said Kiba excitedly as he walked down the steps, Sasuke following suit but keeping quite. He moved to pull his hood and scarf up but remembered what Naruto said _'Let them remember your face, the look in your eyes as you beat them with nothing but weapons and taijutsu.'_

Sasuke smirked _'Maybe this will deflate that ego of his.' _Just as he finished his thought Hayate dropped his hand, signaling the match to begin. Kiba opened his mouth to speak but couldn't after Sasuke had delivered a palm strike to his abdomen. In the few seconds that Kiba slid across the arena he showed that he wasn't just all bark, he thought ahead too. When Sasuke hit him Kiba pulled out a small red pill and flicked it to Akamaru who swallowed it whole and changed him. His normal white fur bled red and his body enlarged before he transformed into Kiba and moved next to his partner.

"You've got some speed but let's see how fast you really are" said Kiba before the both ran at him.

'_Sasuke isn't as versatile as Naruto or flexible like Yugito in Ezio's fighting style, but…' _thought Kakashi as Kiba charged his genin. Sasuke stepped back once to avoid the real Kiba's claws then ducked to avoid the clone of Kiba before he slid his right foot forward and once more slammed his fist into the real Kiba's gut, sending him across the floor. Once Kiba was air born Sasuke was on the move, gut checking the other Kiba before jumping and spinning to heel kick the henged Kiba across to the real one before landing.

'…_.. he knows how to mix power with what he can do to make his moves devastating if they connect.' _Sasuke let out a breath and slid back into his stance, the stance all three genin from team seven used and reminded everyone of an odd looking Hyuuga style. His hands stayed open, facing his opponent, knees bent with one foot in front and another behind, his back slightly forward and his weight distributed equally. **(As I said previously, think of any Assassin fighting with no weapons and facing an opponent.) **Kiba stood, Akamaru henged following suit before both began to gather chakra and crouch down.

"Let's get him Akamaru! **Gatsuga!(Fang Passing Fang)" **The two jumped up and rotated at speeds Sasuke thought his opponent couldn't reach before both moved towards him. The speed they moved wasn't anything mind boggling but impressive none the less for a genin but Sasuke was not your averge genin. Shocking many others Sasuke charged the two then pushed off the ground as they neared him and in amazing feat of both acrobatics and foresight, dodged the two by reacting faster than they expected, causing them to over shoot and leave a whole in their attack.

Sasuke flipped and skidding to a stop, a kunai with a tag tied to it now in his hand. He gathered a small amount of chakra in his arm before throwing it at one of the moving tunnels, exploding once it made contact with the head. Just as the first one went down Sasuke had already taken the other one out above him in the same manner, causing it's user to fall and land in front of the Uchiha. Sasuke looked on impassively as a burnt and battered Kiba fell and then henged back into Akamaru. Once he saw the dog wasn't getting up for the moment he looked back to Kiba who was already in motion, a good ten feet from him, a kunai in hand. Sasuke remained unmoving, right until the kunai was a foot from his face. The Uchiha lifted his left hand quickly, making contact with Kiba's right wrist and making him let go of the kunai. With his right hand Sasuke grabbed the kunai and turned then grabbed Kiba's wrist with his left hand before flipping him over his shoulder and letting the kunai stop near Kiba's neck.

Kiba opened his mouth to speak but stopped when he noticed Sasuke was now two feet from him and Hayate stood between them.

"Sasuke Uchiha wins, please look to the board for the next contestants while we assist the injured" said the proctor as he turned to help Kiba and Akamaru to the medics coming on the floor. Sasuke watched Kiba being carried away before he returned to his teammate's side.

"You did amazing!" said Akahana as he walked up to them.

"Not bad at all" said Kakashi before they watched the next match up, Ino versus Sakura. Apparently she had joined with some other team and just made it here before her team left and only she remained. The match went much different than expected, with Sakura taking the win. Ino was smart, using different tools to keep Sakura moving but with medical training she was forced to increase her speed. Medics had to be fast, in certain situations, so she trained mostly in speed and chakra control. Her speed allowed her to get in front of Ino and her chakra control allowed her to send a devastating chakra enhanced punch to her opponent, catapulting her into the wall and into unconsciousness.

"She's defiantly gotten much better, she's a quick leaner and an amazing medic from what some friends have said when she treated them" said Kakashi. The next few matches were not as exciting but the first one certainly showed Konoha's might. Shikamaru, a genin, easily took out his opponent while barely moving a few feet from his starting point. After that Choji had an unfortunate opponent of Dosu, a sound user that uses gauntlets to enhanced sound waves. No matter how big choji got he couldn't stop the sound from destroying his ears and his equilibrium before he was knocked out when he crashed into a wall.

"At least he tried" said Yugito before she saw her name come up and noticed she was fighting Kankuro.

"Don't hold back too much, that thing wrapped up is most likely a puppet since I feel his chakra connected too it" said Naruto and the girl nodded her head before jumping down from the balcony and walking to her spot as Kankuro walked down the steps and faced her.

"Begin!" said the proctor before his arm fell and he jumped back. Kankuro leaned his head back to dodge Yugito's now claw like finger nails before she placed her hands on the ground and kicked him in his chest with both feet. The blow was enough to push all the air out of the boy and send him skipping across the floor until he steadied himself a good thirty feet from her.

"Not bad for a girl, but-"

"For a girl!? I'll show you how good a girl can be clown face!" shouted Yugito before she flew through hand signs and Naruto's eyes widened.

"Oh man, she's really pissed if she using that."

"What is it?" asked Gai, now standing next to Kakashi.

"A move she created to cause as much pain to her opponent as possible without killing them" said Kakashi.

"**Katon: Yaketsuku yōna bakuhatsu(Fire release: Searing Explosion)!" **said Yugito before she let a breath out and a wave of fire shot out, engulfing half the arena. It wasn't extremely hot but it would burn anything or anyone it touched and burn it did. As the fire and smoke cleared everyone saw Kankuro using his puppet to shield him but he still suffered minor burns on his arms and legs.

"I've had it with you!" shouted Kankuro before he sent his puppet after her as fast as it would move. She had planned for this as well and had a small sealing tag in her hand, one Kakashi helped Naruto create. It was a chakra sealing tag that worked for only five seconds, but this stopped any flow of chakra so his puppet would be inactive for a full five seconds. When the puppet had moved within two feet she shot off, slapping the seal on it and then slid under it as the wooden construct fell to the floor. Kankuro looked shocked when it did and tried to revive it as Yugito ran at him then abandoned his action as she got to close, favoring a kunai to fight her off.

"Too slow!" said Yugito with a smile before she disappeared then reappeared in front of him, his own kunai now placed at his neck.

Kankuro held both hands up "Proctor, I forfeit." In an instant, Hayate stood between the two that were now a few feet apart.

"Winner Yugito Nii, please look to the board for the next contestants" said Hayate. While the board scrolled through names Yugito returned to her team as Kankuro moved to get his puppet back.

"The rest will probably be pretty boring" said Sasuke, leaning on the rail and resting his head on his right hand. He was correct on the most recent match, Temari versus Tenten was mostly boring and something everyone saw coming. However, the Hyuuga match was far from such. Neji seemed to harbor a deep hatred of Hinata and showed that while brutally beating her down again and again. Only when she could barely stand did a single jonin step and end the match. Neji moved to charge the barely standing girl once more only for his sensei, Guy, to appear and stand between the two. If it were mostly anyone else he could have continued but Neji had seen Guy fight before and he'd seen his sensei's downright furious face.

"That's enough" said Guy. Neji said nothing, he only nodded his head and returned to the stands and stood next to Tenten. Gai returned to stand next to Kakashi as the board showed the match everyone present would never forget.

"Gaara and Rock Lee please come down" said Hayate. Once the match commenced no one could look away, Rock Lee showed prowess beyond that of a genin, his speed and power alone reaching that of a chunin as he used the eight inner gates and fought Gaara.

"_**Shukaku is a sly and underhanded one, he will win this" **_said Hitome through the link to all of team seven.

"_**Lee's already got him beat thought" **_responded Yugito before Gaara encased Lee's right hand and leg in sand, turning the bone to near dust. Gaara stood and sand began to flow around him, preparing to attack the boy again before Hayate spoke.

"Enough, the match is over. Gaara is the winner!" shouted the proctor but Gaara ignored his words and moved his sand forwards in a torrential wave. Just as it moved to Lee a gust of wind sent it scattering, shocking Gaara and the others until the cloud of sand dispersed to show Kakashi.

"The proctor called the match, adhere to his words" said Kakashi. Gaara seemed to contemplate his words before frowning and returning to his teammates sides as Kakashi followed suit and Gai took Kakashi's place. What shocked everyone even more was when Lee stood up and prepared for battle, only Naruto frowned when he stood. He felt it, the boy was not awake, nor was he conscious of his movements.

"Lee….the match is over" said Gai, holding his student shoulder only to stop when he noticed Lee was out cold.

"Lee….you truly are a splendid ninja" said Gai, picking up his student and taking him to the medical bay. Naruto turned to Dosu who was scanning the crowd and stopped at him.

"That's what a shinobi with a conviction can do, a shinobi fighting for what he believes in with every fiber of his being. Don't forget it" said Naruto. He had felt the bandages man's will waver from time to time when he was around, he knew a push in the right direction may sway the genin from whatever he was doing.

Dosu smiled under his mask and nodded his head "I don't think I will." Naruto nodded his head back then turned to watch the remaining matches before being called down with the other winning contestants.

Ibiki held a box as they began to walk down "Grab a number then line up." One by one, those who passed grabbed a number and lined up in front of the hokage, Anko, Ibiki and Hayate.

"For the those who made it, congratulations to the eleven of you that have made it through to the final portion. We will have a month break between this portion and the third to allow lords and other officials to arrive. This will allow those who will send out missions to see the crop for the next year of chunin and gauge which village they prefer. So this means, even though you may lose you have the chance to be promoted. If you show the skill and still lose because you didn't have the power you still can be promoted and if you had the power and no skill to back it up you may not be promoted immediately" said the hokage.

"When your number is called out state your name and then we'll go over the match-up" said Ibiki before he ran through the list of numbers then Hayate spoke the match ups in order.

"First will be Sasuke versus Neji, followed by Shino versus Kankuro, Sakura versus Temari, Shikamaru versus Yugito and Naruto versus Gaara last and Dosu will fight the winner of the final fight."

"Best of luck to you all and train well, I can't wait to see the outcome of your matches. Dismissed" spoke Hiruzen before everyone besides team seven left the forest with Anko, Ibiki and Hayate.

"Lord Hokage" said Naruto who received a nod to continue.

"Dosu handed me note saying Orochimaru plans to attack the village with Suna during the third exam and left a location to meet up with him at."

"I know about that already" said the third fire shadow just as a figure appeared next to him. This was a man they all knew well, the stories describing him perfectly. It was a tall man, spiky white hair, a horned headband with the kanji for 'oil' on it, a red long sleeved shirt and a green haori on over it with wooden sandals to complete his outfit.

"Pervy sage!" said Naruto happily as he ran and hugged the older man.

Jiraiya hugged him back and chuckled "I said don't call me that in front of others."

Naruto moved back to his team and spoke "I asked you to stop being such a pervert and that didn't work to well did it?"

The sanin sighed "I guess not, but no matter! I already found out about Orochimaru's plans thanks to an informant inside Suna. She's was working for Ezio but since Hiruzen is in charge of that now I took over whatever she's found out. It appears the kazekage was taken hostage or killed and Orochiamru has taken his place as the main figurehead. He's broken our alliance with the country while preparing it for war with his own country of Oto. Anbu is already in overdrive, getting ready and preparing defenses so no flags are raised and we can fight off this invasion well enough" said the sage.

"Is that Edian in Suna?" asked Naruto and the white haired man nodded his head.

"Really?! How is she? I only got to see her a few times but she's around our age, I think she's few years older than us."

"She's fine, she's taken up a place as an aid to the kazekage, which is great for an informant. She's a sensor to boot so she noticed the change quickly and sent word to me and what plan she formulated. After this business is done she's moving back here, last I checked she's supposed to help run operations with Akahana and you later on.'

Naruto nodded his head "Sensei told me, he said we'll be in charge of missions and sending them out for the most part and letting any information go to you, sensei and Lord Hokage."

"Alright alright, that's enough business talk for now. There's a personal matter that needs to be attended too, Sasuke had a curse seal placed on him by Orochimaru" said the hokage.

"Kakashi told me, I let him know I was studying in one from an informant working with Orochimaru and she's showed me the in's and out's of it. I have a counter seal but it's something I need Kakashi for as well, it takes one user to add chakra and another to feed more through and in essence unlock it and release it. I'll be taking him with me, and his team if they want to come, and we'll get to work immediately so they can train" said Jiraiya.

"Do what must be done, I trust you Jiraiya but meet back with me afterwards. We have some things to discuss" said Hiruzen.

All four bowed their heads "I will, sensei" said Jiraiya before they disappeared.

The aging kage sighed "What will come of my former students actions? Must I fight the very child I raised?"

Sealed house inside the Uchiha compound

Sasuke was sitting down, his legs crossed and covered in seals all along his body and along the floor.

"Alright, seal it just like you would but I'll be adding my own chakra and unlocking the seal. What happens after that don't react too, I'll take care of it all" said Jiraiya before Kakashi moved through a few hand seals then placed his hand on Sasuke's curse seal. All Sasuke knew was pain after that, white hot pain blinding all of his senses. He couldn't even scream, nothing would work, his body refused to move, he stopped breathing and for a second he swore his heart stopped. What seemed like an eternity only lasted a few seconds as the seals receded and then Jiraiya stepped in.

The initial sealing was by far the worst, when Jiraiya began to feed his chakra into it felt just as annoying as an itch he couldn't scratch. Until he felt a surge of chakra enter the seal and the pain returned full force but as soon as it appeared it stopped. The Uchiha felt one final surge then warmth spread through his body and he fell back, taking deep gasping breaths. He turned his head to the side and saw what looked like a small, feeble, near transparent version of Orochimaru laying just a dozen feet from him. Before he could even open his mouth to speak Jiraiya unraveled his large scroll and sealed the….the thing inside it.

"That wasn't too bad now, was it?" asked Kakashi with an eye smile only for Sasuke to glare it him, he had no energy to even talk right now. Kakashi was about to speak again when he felt a massive spike in chakra, Naruto's chakra.

Jiraiya spoke first "Watch him, I'll be back in a minute." With that the sanin simple wasn't there and only one word was all Sasuke thought _'Fast.' _

River near Uchiha compound

Kisame huffed, letting his sword feed chakra into him to heal the now massive dent in his chest.

"That was something else, kid" said the blue man as he slowly stood, Itachi standing unmoving a few feet from him with Yugito unconscious at his side. Naruto looked downright furious, his own chakra, not his bijuu's, swirled around him as he watched Kisame while his eyes flickered to Itachi briefly. In that instant Kisame moved, his sword poised to strike down on Naruto.

Naruto stayed focused on Itachi and slid his foot forward then thrust an open palm at Kisame, once more sending him flying through the forest with a mighty gust of wind. As Kisame barreled through trees Naruto once more turned his attention to Itachi who sighed when he did.

"Just because I am on your side doesn't mean I will hold back much. I do have a part to play" said the Uchiha before his sharingan spun and he ducked to avoid a punch from the white haired sanin who already planned for that. Itachi knew the clone was there but the flawless movement of substituting with it and letting it slam a foot into his side stopped him from blocking. The blow was enhanced with chakra, sending him through the forest and landing a few dozen feet from Kisame.

"We're leaving, that is one of the only men we can't face on even grounds" said Itachi as Kisame stood, his wound healing again.

"It's just a sanin, Orochimaru wasn't anything so what's the difference?" asked Kisame.

"Everything, Orochimaru is sly and cunning, Jiraiya is most certainly the best front fighter of the three. He's got decades of experience compared to us, we'd be hard pressed to beat him, especially if the Third got involved, the teacher of the sanin. Do you want to test your skill against someone who knows more jutsu than every kage combined?" Kisame nearly shivered, he had seen that man a few decades ago during the third shinobi world war. He wasn't someone he would ever want to fight, he was versatile in every climate and against every shinobi.

"Never mind, let's get out of here" said Kisame before the two took off into the forest, heading for the border.

With Jiraiya

He sent a quick pulse of charka into Yugito who jolted upright, her hidden blade shooting out which was stopped by the older man's hand on her wrist.

"Calm down, they're gone" said Jiraiya before she turned to Naruto who seemed tired but mostly fine.

"What happened?" asked the girl.

"I had to use that new taijutsu to fight off Kisame. Itachi stayed out of it until Jiraiya kicked him away, I can feel them running the other direction now" said Naruto.

"What?! How many did you use!?" shouted Yugito, confusing Jiraiya.

"The first one a second ago" said Naruto and Yugito calmed down.

"If that's all, then-"

"Along with the third as an initial strike" finished Naruto and Yugito's anger returned once more.

"The third one! You might as well just use the fifth too!"

"Hold up you two, what's with all this?" asked Jiraiya.

"He's created a taijutsu style that uses wind chakra to add a wider range of attacks without the use of hand seals. He calls them steps, the first is just a gust of wind around ten meters in diameter that comes from the palm, the second is similar only more focused, so around a meter in diameter. The third created a dragon of wind, meant to rip an opponent apart or tear a large hole in them. Since they're all new the wind damages his body, to an extent we still don't know. The first one just puts a strain on the arm muscles, the second does the same to a higher degree but the third has the potential to fracture bones if his chakra control isn't right" said Yugito.

"Is there more?" asked Jiraiya and Yugito nodded her head.

"There is but he didn't use those, the higher it goes the more damage it can do" responded Yugito, still glaring at Naruto who only looked back.

He reached a hand out and ran it along her cheek "At least your safe, that's all that matters." Those words made Yugito's anger dissipate into nothing more than smoldering embers and she leaned into his hand, pressing her own on top of it.

Jiraiya stood and looked in the direction of where his clone kicked Itachi "If you're both ok then everything's fine for now. Anbu will most likely arrive and ask questions so I'll talk to them about that. Get back to the compound and rest up, Kakashi will you three into the ground and I'll pick you and kick you back down when I start training you all." Naruto and Yugito took off, trying to get home as quickly as possible to rest up before they started training again.

"You would think after that month with Kakashi he wouldn't be training us" said Yugito, keeping pace with Naruto as he jumped from roof to roof at a slow pace.

"He may not train us, just keep us conditioned and let us train alone before Jiraiya begins to train us" said Naruto.

"Either way, I'm ready for a nap."

"Me too" responded Naruto.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

Hiruzen set down his pipe when Jiraiya appeared in front of him.

"What've found out so far?" asked the kage.

"Akatsuki is moving slower and slower, Itachi said they plan to go into a three year hibernation of sorts soon. With Suna, Edina was very sure it was Orochimaru who was playing as the kazekage so we can assume the former kage was killed, she did note she felt a few surges of chakra in the desert around Suna but assumed the man was training. Oto is probably where Orochimaru keeps a good number of bases and leads; they do follow him after all" said Jiraiya as he took a seat in front of the hokage.

The oldest Sarutobi took a drag of his pipe and let out a long sigh of smoke "I see, too think I lived so long to watch my own students turn on me. Akatsuki could be an issue if I don't start letting the other jonin know so they can train themselves since the anbu are already doing so."

"Kakashi told them, I assume?"

"Of course, he wanted them to know and be as prepared as possible. Past them, only my son Asuma and Anko know the full threat of the Akatsuki. I need to prepare the village, about this invasion and the Akatsuki so I'll call a meeting within few days."

Jiraiya nodded his head "Good decision, I'll be training team seven this next month. If I trained Naruto's father why not train his son and those other two. From what's been flying around the nations there quite something, the only genin to get anbu training at the same time and the best functioning three man team."

"I wish they weren't so popular, it attracs too much attention to the three, especially because of their special circumstances" said the kage.

"Either way, they'll be prepared for plenty of things by the time I'm through with them. I need to go check up on the Uchiha, see how his body's handling the sealing and all" said the sage as he stood.

"Let Kakashi know he needs to not be late to the meeting I call" said Hiruzen before Jiraiya disappeared in a swirl of leaves. Once he left the man took another puff from his pipe and let out the smoke.

"I might as well stretch my legs, practice a bit before things get going" said the hokage before he stood and walked to his personal training ground outside his clan compound.

Three weeks later

"That's a load of bull" said Naruto, Yugito and Sasuke nodding their heads at his words.

"It's not, I'm only teaching you this. Sasuke get's the chidori" said Jiraiya.

"What about Yugito?" asked Sasuke.

"I'm thinking!" said Jiraiya before his eyes lit up.

"You're a fire nature right?" asked the sanin and the young dirty blonde girl nodded her head.

"I may have a jutsu, but you'd have to use your bijuu chakra for this one. Read it" said Jiraiya, handing her a scroll. She opened it up and read it, her eyes widening as she did.

"Are you serious?! I can learn this!?"

"As long as you're using it on the lake near here, I don't want that going off near any trees" said Jiraiya.

Yugito smiled brightly "Awesome! I'm going now!"

"Hold up, Neko" said Kakashi and the cat masked anbu appeared next to him.

"Yes?" asked the woman.

"Go with her please, just in case" said Kakashi and the woman nodded her head before following the girl away from the boys.

"What was that she's learning?" asked Naruto.

"I'll let her chose to tell you all, she may leave it for a surprise. That's certainly going to be one move that would surprise anyone that she uses it against" said the sanin.

"Come over here Sasuke, we'll get to work on the chidori" said Kakashi, taking Sasuke to the other side of the training ground.

"What are we going to start on?" asked Naruto before he caught a water ballon.

"Get to work on popping that, using chakra to swirl water around it."

"You're kidding" deadpanned the Uzumaki and the sanin shook his head.

Naruto sighed "This is going to be a long month."

One month later, chunin exams stadium

"The arena's much smaller than I thought I would be" said Naruto as they stood with the other contestants.

"Alright, welcome to the third portion of the chuin exams. I am Genma, the proctor that will take the place of Hayate who has been pulled for illness. I need Sasuke and Neji to stay here, the rest of you go to the contestants box." Slowly the others walked off, leaving Neji facing Sasuke.

"Ready?"

"Begin!" said Genma before he jumped back. Sasuke pulled his hood over his head and moved his scarf up to cover his nose and show off the Konoha head plate sewn on it. Neji slowly slid into his clans stance then he spoke.

"You've been fated to lose this match" said Neji and Sasuke chuckled.

"Those who stop fighting for freedom find an excuse their mind uses to cope with, to numb the pain knowing they gave up. That seal wont' go away with that attitude Hyuuga" said Sasuke. The mention of the seal instantly triggered Neji who moved first, charging Sasuke who had yet to get into any stance. Neji extended his hand as he neared and notice two sharingan come to life in the shadows of the hood before Sasuke moved. One second Neji was just inches from slamming his palm into Sasuke's gut and now he was flying upside down across the arena.

'_He's much faster than before' _thought the prodigy before he flipped and skidded to a halt.

"I wonder who's is better. An ancient taijutsu style based around defense or a style created to redirect an opponent's attacks and created openings" said Sasuke, slowly walking towards Neji who once more slid into his stance.

"How foolish, you speak as though you think you have a chance to win. I am-" Neji stopped speaking when he had to jump right, a fireball colliding with the ground where he once stood.

"No hand seals, have you truly mastered that jutsu?" asked Neji and Sasuke shook his head.

"If you get good enough you don't have to use them but when you don't some jutsu lack the power they normally would. Now, this game of cat and mouse is boring. Show me what you can really do" said Sasuke, sliding into his stance.

"Very well, you are in my field of division. **Hakke Rokujūyon Shō(Eight trigrams sixty four palms)" **said Neji before he once more charged Sasuke but this time his intent wasn't filled with anger and he was much more aware of his surroundings. Sasuke let his sharingan spin before he stepped back, blocking the first strike, then the second, fifth, twelfth, twenty first, thirty third, forty ninth, fifty seventh then punched to level out with his sixty fourth palm strike. Neji let out a tired sigh and glared at him.

"The sharingan is quite capable, but it can't see everything" said Neji before he began to spin on his heel. Sasuke felt his body move then searing pain was sent through his arm. He barely had time to get his feet on the ground and jump back before Neji sped up. Sasuke summoned cloth from his wrist storage seal and wrapped his torn up right arm while Neji slowed down, a smug look on his face.

"Do you see now? You can read my movements but you can't break my defense Uchiha" said Neji as Sasuke resealed the cloth and rolled his arm around.

"No, you just made this match fun. I want to see how much that little dome can take" said Sasuke flew through hand seals and Neji began to spin. Sasuke's hand lit up with electricity and he slowly lifted it and flexed his fingers.

"This won't work, I guess this is a good a time as any to experiment with that new jutsu" said Sasuke before he pointed his hand and the chakra dome.

"Don't lose your leg, **Chidori Eiso(One thousand birds sharp spear)" **said Sasuke before a stream shot out of Sasuke's hand and right through the dome Neji had created. For a few seconds Sasuke thought it didn't pierce all the way through the dome of spinning chakra so he let the lightning dissapate. He was pleased when the dome began to fade and Neji could be seen on the ground, trying to hold his now gashed and paralyzed left leg.

"That's it, huh? Not such an ultimate defense" said Sasuke with a shrug before he began to walk up to the downed Hyuuga. Just as entered the creator the chakra dome made Neji pushed off with his only good leg, his strike going straight for Sasuke's throat. It may have connected it Sasuke still didn't have his sharingan activated, so he saw the movement as soon as Neji budged and reacted accordingly. The Uchiha slammed his fist into Neji's stomach then let him slide off his shoulder and on to the ground.

"I'd like to see you forfit, forcing you to isn't something I would enjoy. After all, you do need to learn to make your own decisions for once."

"Fate….is something…..I can always…"

"Fate is something fools use to justify actions they dislike or chose to elevate their stature. It's nothing more than a figment of imagination, something to be tossed away when reality comes into play. It's time to see the true, unwritten and beautiful life you've missed" said Sasuke before he pulled a kunai out. Just as he was lifting his arm Genma appeared, holding his wrist.

"Winner, Sasuke Uchiha. In a written note, both Kankuro and Temari have withdrawn from the match due to illness and have forfeited their matches. We will be moving directly to the fourth match so will Shikamaru and Yugito please come down to the arena floor." Sasuke expected this, Kankuro and Temari were part of the sand invasion and couldn't rely on a bijuu for extra chakra. The Uchiha holstered his kunai and held a hand out to Neji who held on as he was lifted up and his arm slung over Sasuke's shoulder. As Sasuke carried Neji to the medical ward Shikamaru and Yugito arrived and stood across from one another.

"Begin!" shouted Genma before he jumped back.

"This is a drag, it's troublesome I even made it this far" said Shikamaru and Yugito sighed.

"I understand, training hasn't been fun at all" said Yugito.

"Maybe we should just watch the clouds, run the clock out, if there is one" said Shikamaru and Yugito nodded her head happily.

"There's no clock!" shouted Genma and the two sighed again.

"I guess we have to fight, no holding back alright?" asked Yugito and Shikamaru shrugged.

"If you knock me out first then that's less work for me" responded the lazy genius before he leaned back to avoid Yugito's slash. She had no time to think as Shikamaru kicked her in the gut, sending her skidding across the ground.

"You're a fast thinker" said Yugito.

"I'm a Nara so it's an occupational thing." Yugito stepped up her speed and this time landed her attack, a simple gut check but she didn't stop there. She stepped back and lifted her leg to attack only to notice she couldn't move.

"Shadow possession success, now bring the real you out" said the Nara, stabbing the clone which caused it to explode. He never noticed the attack coming, he only felt pain when a crushing kick slammed into his elbow. However, as the attack connected he disappeared, signifying he was only a simple clone image. Yugito noticed the shadow of the tree seemed to shoot out at her and she bolted, applying chakra to her legs and stopping at the other side of the field.

"Man, just hand to hand is hard enough. You plan so far ahead, nearly anything I do is useless. I guess I should step my game up too" said Yugito before she formed a ram sign and began to gather chakra. As seconds ticked by her chakra grew darker and began to become visible around her body while her eyes shifted to one being green and the other yellow, her pupils now slits just like a cat's.

"**Try to keep up" **said Yugito before she disappeared in a burst of speed. Shikamaru jumped back as fast as he could, barely avoiding the claw strike that cut through the entire tree however he planned for that as well. Just as the tree fell an explosive note went off, rocking the ground from the force it emitted. The Nara pulled a kunai and deflected four other kunai and two shuriken's before he threw his kunai back and pulled another. Just as the other was in his hand he parried a strike from Yugito's hidden blade before they began to reach a rhythm. Yugito would constantly attack, trying to break his defense while Shikamaru had pulled a second kunai out and was parrying every strike she sent his way.

Suddenly he felt a burst of chakra from her and he was once more flying across the arena and into the stadium wall courtesy of a strong kick to his gut. Yugito tried to move after him but noticed her body wouldn't respond.

"I placed you in the shadow possession just when your attack connected, now I guess it's my turn" said Shikamaru, walking out towards her as Yugito mimicked his movements. The two stopped and faced one another before Shikamaru raised his arm, Yugito following suit.

"Proctor, I forfeit" said Shikamaru and the entire stadium went quite.

"Wha-"

"I have three broken ribs, my chakra's nearly gone and I think I've got a bruised lung. I won't be able to continue" said the Nara and Genma shook his head.

"Alright then, the winner is Yugito Nii!" said Genma and the entire stadium went into an uproar. Shikamaru shook his head and walked off, Yugito following suit and returned to where Naruto was while Shikamaru went to the medical area to get patched up.

"I need Gaara and Naruto to-" he was cut off when both teleported onto the arena. Naruto with his hood and scarf already up and Gaara's gourd was already uncorked.

"Begin!" shouted the proctor and in an instant Naruto was on Gaara, his fist just stopping a few inches from the boys face while his sand stood between the two.

"You aren't as fast as the other, you can't beat my sand" said Gaara and Naruto smirked behind his scarf.

"Can't I?" Then, Gaara was sent skidding across the arena from a side kick.

"Where's your sand now?" asked Naruto before he jumped back to avoid the small amount left that formed into a spike, intent on going right through him. Naruto landed softly and looked forward, his eyes narrowing as Gaara's smirk disappeared under his now reforming sand armor.

"You've seen the real me, mother tells me to fear you. She screams at me to run, nine is stronger than one but I know better. You cannot base things on power, the will of both players takes its toll as well" said Gaara, his sand forming a shell around him.

"Seek me out, Uzumaki. Try to break my ultimate defense" said Gaara before the shell closed completely and an eyeball of sand began to float above it.

"_**It'll be hard to break with step one, maybe two but three is overkill. The daggers need to be kept hidden, use step two and see how things go" **_said Hitome.

"_**I know, thank you" **_responded Naruto before he began to slide into his stance. It looked nearly exactly like his usual one, expect his left hand was facing open forward and his right was tucked at his side.

"Things might get ugly" said Sasuke, confusing Akahana who hid inside his shadow.

"He's going to use the steps, if it goes over one the battle may take a drastic turn, for either side" said Yugito, frowning as Naruto began to move. He easily weaved the spikes that shot out of the dome and slammed a palm into the wall of the sand.

"**Dainidankai(Second Step)" **said Naruto softly before a concentrated blast of wind chakra burst through the sand and slammed into Gaara. Just as the attack connected Naruto sensed a minute but demonic spike in chakra before….._something_…..shot out at him. He instantly substituted and appeared a good twenty feet away from the dome. The log he substituted with was torn to shreds by an odd claw like appendage that receded back into the dome.

"No…..no…no….mother help….fix this…..it's my blood mother….my BLOOD!" shouted Gaara, the sand dome wavering and falling, revealing the red head. He was on his knees, clutching the hole in his right shoulder, mumbling to himself. Just as the dome fell Naruto noticed many stadium occupants fall asleep, just as they had known. Many jonin and chunin, and those remaining genin, leapt into action to fight the invading threat. As quickly as the siblings of the container arrived Naruto's team arrived. The sand siblings knew the danger of facing them, two containers and an Uchiha were most certainly not something they could handle. What both sides didn't expect was a kunai to land near Naruto and the sand jonin to appear.

"Flee with Gaara, the plan backfired!" shouted the man before the siblings took off and he noticed the proctor now facing him.

"Tail them, Shikamaru and Sakura are already in pursuit" said Genma. The three said nothing before they disappeared in a burst of speed.

"Your genin won't last long against them" said Genma, he knew how strong those three were.

"They may not but there is one ace up their sleeve" replied Baki before he took off at the other jonin.

With Kakashi

The former anbu captain easily moved through both friendly and hostile enemies, slicing down any who posed a threat to the livelihood of his fellow village members or allies. At some point he had been cornered by a group of nearly thirty five oto shinobi, Neko to his left and Guy to his right.

"How unfair" whined the cat masked anbu, playing with her tanto.

"For them!" shouted Guy, taking off towards the ones in front of them. The three easily cut through the grouping before ceasing their movement, noticing many enemy shinobi were either pulling back, dead or surrendering.

"Senpai, should I follow that team of yours?" asked Neko, tilting her head a bit.

"No, they'll handle those three. Move to secure all high target areas and flush this place out, we need it clean as soon as possible" said Kakashi before any ninja on his side saluted.

"Hai, Taicho!"they shouted before leaving, only Neko remained.

"I'll stick by your side, you like getting into trouble senpai" said Yugao.

Kakashi said nothing as he began to move "I don't mind the company."

With Jiraiya

"Crush 'em!" shouted the sage to the toad, referring to the triple headed snake summon they faced off against.

"With ease" said the chief toad, slicing through the snake with ease before crushing as many Oto and Suna shinobi as he could. Jiraiya felt the seal go off on him, signaling Naruto had left the village walls.

"He must be chasing after the Ichibi container" said Jiraiya.

"Do we need to follow?" asked Gamabunta.

"No, we'll know if things get bad in that one. Keep slicing!" shouted Jiraiya, throwing off a few explosive notes.

With Naruto

"Shikamaru, Sakura, keep the two ahead busy. We'll take care of the other one" said Naruto.

"We'll do what we can" said Sakura before she and Shikamaru fell below to the ground.

Naruto summoned his daggers and let some of Hitome's chakra flow "Don't hold back." Sasuke felt some of Hitome's chakra enter his system thanks to the seal they had made and activated his sharingan while Yugito let her own bijuu's chakra enter her. Gaara was hunched over on a branch, his injured shoulder encased in sand. The sand had formed around his eye, shifting it to gold and had created a tail a well. He sensed the three approach rather slowly but suddenly they disappeared, even mother couldn't find them.

"Behind you" was all he heard before a much larger and weaker gust of wind slammed him into a tree. Before his sand even had time to move a devastating punch encased in fire slammed into his chest, glassing up the sand armor he had on. As new sand moved up the tree a third opponent arrived, this time letting lose a roaring thunder kick into his stomach. Thankfully, the sand helped stop some of the blow, it still sent him through the tree and into another.

"_**Let me take over sweetie, let mother scold these children" **_said a voice inside Gaara's head.

"_**But mother, you don't need to stain your hands" **_said Gaara, receiving a near bone shattering blow to the face, causing him to fall to the ground below.

"_**Sleep, mother will take care of the rest" **_this time the voice shifted to a much more demonic tone but Gaara was too tired to care.

"_**As you wish…mother….." **_responded Gaara before he let sleep overtake him. The three genin cursed before jumping back as the massive form of the tanuki appeared where they once were.

"**Time to raise hell!" **shouted Shukaku before he held his arm up to deflect a large blue fireball.

"Stall for Sasuke!" shouted Naruto as he flew through hand signs **"Suiton: Mizu no Kami(Water release: God of Water)!" **Shukaku never expected a nearly equally sized water form of some warrior with a trident to appear in front of him, the caster in it's head.

"**I've only seen this control of water in one man, Senju Tobimara" **said Shukaku.

Naruto's red eyes softened a bit **"I see, I'll take that as a compliment then. Now, we have a battle to get to." **As the figure swung the trident almost no one noticed the slow gathering of grey storm clouds in the area.

With the kages

Orochimaru cursed loudly, avoiding a strike from his sensei. The old man had tied down the second hokage and let A fight off the first while he went after his disciple.

"Your mind shouldn't be wandering in a fight" said Hiruzen, slamming his bo staff into Orochimaru's stomach. The blow easily cracked four ribs and sent him skidding back a few feet. He cursed again, his plan wasn't falling apart, it was being burned and danced on by a senile old man!

"You really thought reviving the previous kages and barely even a third of their strength with two kages here would do much?" asked Hiruzen.

Orochimaru smirked "No, I had a backup plan." Suddenly a bone blade slammed near the kages feet and a man dropped down.

"Kimmimaro will take care of you for me, as he did the previous Kazekage" said Orochimaru, letting his former best take on the aged shinobi. Once more, the battle was short, but that was to be expected. Hiruzen was far more experienced, power meant little to a man who had seen two great wars. Orochimaru somewhat pitied his former right hand man, barely twitching his soaking wet, yet smoldering body stuck on a large earth spike. His dead bone pulse bloodline wouldn't help him there, his heart had been crushed by the hardest hit from a bo staff Orochimaru had ever seen his sensei deliver….but…he served his purpose well. Hiruzen was tired and weak, easy prey for the sanin, or so he thought. In a drastic turn of events, Orochimaru felt the chilling aura of the death god appear in front of him.

"I….may be…..old…..but I am…not…..leaving without a piece of you!" shouted Hiruzen with a shout, using the mighty will of his to seal away his former students arms before passing from the world. As Hiruzen fell, his life flashing before his eyes, the happy moments fading with his conscious, Orochimaru fell to his knees. He smirked but wept, torn between victory and sadness at the defeat and death of his sensei, his father figure. No sooner had he fallen did the first hokage dissipate and his subordinates move into action, taking him far away from the village. Just as they moved everyone felt it, a massive spike in chakra just before the towering form of Shukaku was bathed in light. As quickly as it appeared, it faded, leaving nothing but a thin trail of smoke.

As the light faded A appeared next to Hiruzen, a frown set on his face as anbu rushed to him.

"You truly were are the kage we all need to be, a shinobi respected even by those trying to kill you. Rest in peace Sarutobi Hiruzen, may death bring you the rest you deserve" said the Kumogakure kage, for one of the rare times, saluting to the dead kage's body. Every anbu and any ninja now on the roof followed suit, saluting and giving a brief moment of silence to the fallen kage, the fallen god of shinobi.

"Alright, as of now I will take up acting kage to insure these walls don't fall into enemy hands! I want everyone moving to dispel any enemy out of the borders of the land of fire! Get moving!" shouted A, every able ninja moving as quickly as possible. He may not be their kage but he was a kage, a man of power and authority that demanded respect. As the men and women left A gently picked up Hiruzen.

"I'm not leaving you out here for any vulture, I'll personally see to it your body is protected" said A, taking off to the kage tower.

With Sasuke, Naruto and Yugito

Naruto wasn't faring well, even with the occasional fireball from Yugito, he was losing. The toll on his chakra was too much for him, Hitome was already hard pressed to send what she could to him without damaging his body any further.

"It's ready!" shouted Sasuke.

"Use it!" Naruto shouted back.

"But-"

"NOW!" shouted Naruto, moving his water figure to keep Shukaku in place.

"**Kirin!" **shouted Sasuke. The two never felt it at first, it was just a blinding light but a few seconds later both Naruto and the most certainly awake Gaara felt the agonizing pain flow through them. They couldn't see anything as the pain unlike anything they had felt before shot through their bodies, however, with Gaara under possession and Naruto using a massive amount of Hitome's chakra, both didn't fall unconscious. What did happen was both Shukaku and Naruto's water jutsu dissipated before they fell on the ground, laying there as Naruto slowly rolled over to face Gaara.

"Not bad, you're still awake" said Naruto, squinting his eyes as Gaara's shot open.

"You…..you plan to kill me! I haven't proved my existence yet by killing you!" shouted Gaara, confusing Naruto a bit.

"Why kill to prove your existence? Why not become stronger? Become a kage? Everyone recognizes kages, you'd prove your existence helping others, not killing them. That's just one way, there's millions more" said Naruto, noticing Gaara seemed to begin some kind of internal conflict. Just as he did both Naruto's team and Gaara's appeared.

"We need to take them out and leave, they finished off Gaara" said Kankuro, pulling out a kunai.

"Enough you two, we've done enough already" said Gaara, shocking everyone. The red head looked directly at Naruto as his siblings helped him up.

"I'll take heed to your words, Uzumaki. You seem to do well off with how you live life, maybe I can do the same" said Gaara before his siblings took off with him.

"What was that about?" asked Sasuke before he noticed Naruto still laying on the ground.

"Dunno, but I'm gonna take a quick nap. See you in the morning" said Naruto with a yawn before he let sleep overtake him.

One week later

Naruto sighed as Yugito pushed him back on the couch "No you don't. You were told to rest for at least another two days."

"C'mon! Just a little spar so I can stretch my legs" whined Naruto.

"You really need rest" said Sasuke, walking in the room with Akahana.

"Not you too!" said Naruto.

"Hey Naruto, I've gotta go find the next hokage. Wanna come?" asked Jiraiya, walking in. Naruto jumped up and threw his hands in the air.

"Yes! Ow!" said Naruto, kneeling down and holding his leg.

"Muscle spasm?" asked the sanin as he was helped to his feet by Yugito.

"Every now and again" said Naruto with a sheepish smile as Yugito glared at him.

"You can still go, I learned stretching my legs helps out a bit. You work your muscles out and let them warm up to work properly" said Yugao, appearing next to Jiraiya with Kakashi in tow.

"Tagging along?" asked Sasuke and the woman shook her head.

"I can't, senpai and I have to clean the village up. Take Akahana with you, Edian should be meeting up there anyway" said Yugao.

"Where?" asked Yugito.

"A town nearby, Tsunade Senju is rumored to be hanging around there" said Jiraiya and Naruto's mood darkened.

"That deserter, she's who they chose?" said Naruto with a glare as Jiraiya sighed. His student knew the woman somewhat, she was one of his godparents after all. He wasn't pleased with her, she never attempted to contact him, Jiraiya had.

"Because she's strong and the world's best medic, with myself and you four we should be able to convince her to come by."

Naruto shrugged, standing on his own "Let's get going then, we'll pick up some trash and bring it back for the village."

"Could you not say that to her when you see her?" asked the sanin as the four began to walk out, their stuff already packed up in seals they had on their person.

"Probably not when I see her neck deep in sake bottles and drunker than an entire fleet of sailors" said Naruto.

**Chapter five is done! After getting twenty pages done then running out of ideas forever I finally got it done. I don't know when the next update will be, hopefully soon but life likes to slap me in the face quite a bit. Take it easy everyone!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Quick note, battles will be short in this and I'll explain on the bottom. Hope it doesn't sound too bad but I did make this in under 24hours. Begin!**

Key:

"Naruto"-speaking of humans and demons in human form

'_Naruto'_-thinking of humans and demons in human form

"**Naruto"**-Demon speaking in demon form and any attacks

"_Naruto"_-Demons thinking in demon form

"_**Naruto"**_-anyone speaking through a mental link

'_Everyone is a moon and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody' _–Mark Twain

**PS- Pay attention to the quotes as time goes on, they'll be like theme's for peak pointes in the story soon.**

Chapter 6

"Is this really a town she'd go to?" asked Naruto as their group overlooked the small town below them. It wasn't much at all, mostly a merchant town based off the passing traffic and the frequent festivals they had.

"The oldest report said here and if not here it's the next town over. This one just finished a small festival and the one across from here is about to enter a large one to celebrate a great harvest for its people. Can you sense everything from here?" asked Jiraiya. Naruto pressed both his hands together then sent out a large burst of chakra and remained silent for nearly a minute before he opened his eyes.

"I don't sense any large signatures in the town but there's a lot of traffic near that collapsed building" said Naruto, pointing at a large pile of rubble on the other side of town.

"I'll go check it out, you four go search the area and see if there are any clues saying she left in a hurry or where she went specifically." With that the sanin left, disappearing in a silent shunshin.

"So, who wants to go get some food because I'm starving" said Naruto, walking down the road with his group in tow then he suddenly stopped.

"Yugito, take Akahana and go to Jiraiya. Tell me someone is approaching the town from the forest we came out of" said Naruto.

"Someone needs to get him and I don't know if there's others working for whoever's coming in the town so Akahana can't go alone. Go, before he gets here" said Naruto. Yugito hesitated but let go and took off with Akahana towards the other side of the town. Once Naruto made sure she wasn't turning around he spun on his heels to face Sasuke.

"We'll go with screen one then move to air one. If that doesn't work we'll use double edge" said Naruto.

"So we aren't holding punches then" said Sasuke, rolling his shoulder as he turned around and took off after Naruto into the forest.

"We can't, surprise is our best option. Get ready" said Naruto before he threw two kunai ahead of him with smoke tags attached. As soon as they set off the two moved into action instantly. Naruto dived under and Sasuke flew straight through, using his sharingan to land a solid flying kick to the assailants unguarded head. The force of the kick easily knocked him off balance and as he slipped off his perch Naruto flew upward towards him with a chakra enhanced fist at the ready. The blow connected fully to the targets back before sending him almost fifteen feet above the tree line.

Sasuke pointed a finger at the chest of the air born being and spoke **"Raiton: Dangan(Lightning release: Bullet)!" **A small orb of lightning shot off of Sasuke's finger and streaked across the sky towards the figure. However, whoever they were fighting quickly drew their broadsword which erected a sealing barrier around ten feet in diameter that held off the small lightning ball which exploded after impact.

"Double edge it is, use it while he's still in the air" said Sasuke and Naruto took off with a kunai in hand. He moved to swing but his arm was cleaved off by the targets sword which caused Naruto to explode in smoke.

"Shadow clone" whispered the figure until he noticed the buildup of chakra from behind when it was too late. In a sudden burst of wind he was slammed to the ground in a matter of a second from his position almost fifty feet above ground. The figure slowly stood with the help of their sword.

"These damn kids are nothing like the hit said they were. They work together just as well as any elite group would." The figure sensed an attack incoming and quickly erected the shield by turning the flat side of his blade towards the area and using his chakra to keep the barrier up. A single fist impacted the wall and pushed him back just a few inches. It didn't seem like much but it was considering the shield was supposed to stop and negate all force of an attack. Naruto looked up and smiled as his now crimson eyes almost glowed under his hood.

"**Keep it up"** said Naruto, stepping back then sliding his right leg back and brining his right hand close to his side.

"**Dai san dankai(Third step)" **said Naruto, before stepping forward with a palm thrust as a dragon made entirely of wind appeared around Naruto and rushed the still standing barrier. As the dust settled Naruto smiled, the barrier was cracked and his opponent was struggling to hold the words handle with both hands.

"**Keep it up, stranger!"** shouted Naruto with a smile before he took off in a run towards him and his opponent tensed for another attack. Just as Naruto neared him he disappeared, replaced with Sasuke who looked a little different. The top part of his cloak wasn't on and lightning flowed off his shoulders as he held out his right palm to the barrier.

"Be gone **Shunko(War Cry)" **said Sasuke before lightning erupted from his palm, completely incasing the barrier and the surrounding forest. As his attack died down and the dust kicked up began to fade Naruto appeared next to him. In front of them was their target, leaned up against a large tree as the surrounding twenty feet and almost fifteen feet behind him was nothing but barren dirt.

"That wasn't too bad" said Naruto, already feeling the pain from his third step and Sasuke huffing a bit from having to use his attack so suddenly. It took a toll on his chakra if he couldn't charge it properly because the less time he had the more needless chakra was poured out in each attack.

"Let's try to get some information out of him real quick" said Sasuke, activating his sharingan only to notice someone rocketing towards them from around the tree. Sasuke couldn't react fast enough, his body was still recovering from the sudden massive push of chakra but Naruto's body did. He pushed Sasuke out of the way and waited to get impaled by the twin swords their new opponent wielded. The blow never came. In an instant the new attacker was imbedded nearly a foot into the ground when Jiraiya appeared, shoving a rasengan into the assailant's back. The move easily killed the man with the power by destroying his spine, caving in his lungs and rupturing multiple internal organs.

"Not bad guys, you took out Shay Cormac but you didn't notice his sensei Haytham Kenway lying around for an opportunity . Always keep your senses open for any secret opponent waiting for an opportunity for an easy kill" said Jiraiya, standing to his full height.

"What do you think they wanted?" asked Naruto, helping Sasuke up.

"There was a contract for…your teams head's…..the last of the…..assassins…must…..die" said Shay before his body went limp, signally his death. After all, he was missing two arms thanks to Sasuke's attack.

"I'll ask a contact of mine about this after we find Tsunade. He's not near here so I can't go there just yet. You two ok?" asked Jiraiya and just as he did Yugito showed up.

"Yo" said Naruto and stumbled a bit when Yugito ran into him, giving him a full hug. Akahana was a bit more reserved and helped Sasuke put the top of his cloak back on when he unsealed it from one of the seals on his arm.

"What number this time?" asked Yugito, not letting go. She could tell, the chakra resonating around him was a tell tale sign when he used any step.

"Just the third, once. I'm not banged up anymore so my body just feels really sore" said Naruto.

"I'm just stiff, using Shunko with little preparation really hurts my nerves" said Sasuke.

"You two really are something else" said a new figure from atop the still standing tree where Shay's body was.

"Sas…..uke….." coughed out Akahana, moving her hand to the six kunai embedded in her chest. Time seemed to slow down as Naruto's group slowly turned to her and Sasuke moved to catch her. Jiraiya moved quicker than any there, slamming a fist into the hooded figure before it exploded to reveal that it was only a clone. The sanin expanded his senses and didn't feel any signature nearby so he jumped down from the tree and moved to stand behind Sasuke as he laid Akahana down on the ground. No one spoke, they knew there was nothing to do and it was best for them to just listen to her final words.

"Don't look….so sad guys….I'll get a good night's rest" said Akahana with a smile, blood leaking out of the side of her mouth as she did.

"I'm sorry I didn't notice him" said Sasuke, struggling to come to terms with what happened still.

"Don't…..you've brought so much…happiness into my life…recently…..that's all I….wanted to have…..a few moments…with those I…..hold dear…..Naruto, Yugito…..keep one another…..close together…Sasuke" said Akahana as she reached to cup his cheek in her right hand "don't….dwell on this….find someone…..to live your life protecting…..I'm…..kinda…..tired." As soon as she spoke those words her hand fell and her eyes fully closed. Yugito cried in Naruto's shoulder as he half hugged her and Sasuke did his best to cry silently as Jiraiya sealed away her body for a proper burial at the village.

"Follow me to the inn we'll be staying at. You three need to get some rest" said the sanin, his tone leaving absolutely no room for argument. The three trailed behind, each one dead silent as they kept their hoods and scarfs up to cover the majority of their faces. The walk was short, the inn was just past the entrance and Jiraiya had booked one large room for them.

"Stay in here and talk it out, I'll be back in a while. I need to look over the rest of the site" and with that the sanin was gone. They knew he wasn't emotionally hurt about her death, they weren't close, none of them were that close but Jiraiya had seen it more. He was seasoned, he could hide his emotions for deaths like this easier than the other three could.

"Let's get a drink" said Naruto, unsealing the bourbon they usually drank and grabbed some ice before pouring each one a glass.

"What now?" asked Sasuke.

"What's that supposed to mean? We continue on as we normally would, finish this mission like we were asked to by Jiraiya. I won't bail out, we'll finish the last mission Akahana went on and drag that damn woman back if we have to" said Naruto.

"Am I a bad person for being happy I didn't know her that well? So it hurt less" murmered Yugito and both Sasuke and Naruto looked at her with pity. The girl was telling the thing they all held on their minds but didn't speak.

"No, we all share the same idea. However, we will remember the fleeting moments we did spend with her never fade. She was an amazing friend, she stuck by our side when she had the option to leave after Ezio died. He was like her father so his death really hit her hard. She nearly killed herself once but Yugao had stopped her when she had showed up to pick her up to meet up with us at the second stage of the exams. I do know she's better off, she was still extremely depressed before we left from what Kakashi told me but she had pushed it down around us. This is her release, I'm happy that she did find some peace" said Naruto. No one else in the room knew that, they had never seen her depressed to that stage before.

"I…..I want to keep thinking it's my fault she died. That I should have been faster but…..her words echo in my head and I just can't…..but….I can't just move on…..she was a dear friend even though I didn't know her that well….I really wanted to" said Sasuke, his eyes watering a bit as he took a sip of his drink.

Naruto downed his own then stood "Let's get some sleep, we need to rest our minds and bodies from earlier. We may see more action than expected and I don't want to get killed before we finish this."

"Alright" said Sasuke and Yugito, downing their own before sealing up the drinks and moving down the hall.

Later that night

Jiraiya arrived just as the sun was setting, finally getting a good look and a feel for what happened. He saw no one in the main room so he opened one of the doors to see the three had moved one bed into this room so they all could sleep in the same room.

"They'll be fine as long as they stay together" said Jiraiya quietly before retiring to his own bed. He wouldn't go out tonight, he needed to get some rest for the surely long day tomorrow.

Next day

The now four man group moved along the main road through another forested area towards Tanzaku Gai where Tsunade was supposed to be.

"So Orochimaru was around that last place then" said Yugito.

"Yeah, it looked like he and Tsunade met for a bit but nothing else showed up. From what I know his right hand man experimented on a user of the dead bone pulse so those seals on the kunai used earlier were most likely his."

"So Kabuto did it this" said Sasuke quietly.

"Most likely but we can focus on them later on. The town is just down this hill so we'll split up again inside the town this time and search for her once Naruto senses for her" said the sanin.

"Or we all meet her when I find her" said Naruto. He knew the woman was most likely drunk and she'd say something to piss him or his already short fuse team off pretty quick. The four remained relatively silent for the rest of the four mile walk, sharing a small lunch of fruits found on a few trees on the path during the walk. As they entered the large town Naruto pressed both hands together and sent out a burst of charka then instantly opened his eyes.

"Follow me" said Naruto and he took off across the rooftops, everyone else right after him. They cut across the majority of the town and stopped at a bar just at the edge where a large field and a barren forest lay.

"She's in there" said Naruto, pointing to the table towards the front. Jiraiya moved first then put on his usual happy go lucky face when they saw Tsuande, her assistant he told them was Shizune and her pet pig Tonton.

"Long time to see, princess!" said Jiraiya, letting Yugito in first then Sasuke before he sat down and Naruto sat at the end.

"What an odd thing, meeting you right after seeing our other teammate just yesterday" said Tsunade.

"Interesting, you two didn't invite me! Now, these are Kakashi's kids and the anbu trained ones I spoke about a few months ago in that letter. That's Yugito, then Sasuke and you know Naruto" said Jiraiya, pointing to each of them.

"Cut this shit, what do you want?" asked a half drunk Tsunade. She was already tired from thinking so much about her other teammate and this one wasn't any better.

"Always no fun with you but I can relate. Look, the village decided you were the best to become the next hokage so I'm here to-"

"No, I don't want anything to do with some pencil pushing, desk job meant for fools that think they can help everyone. Kiss off" said Tsunade before a kunai slammed on the table, shattering her shake cup.

"Hey" said the one sitting in front of her. Tsunade slowly moved her eyes from the weapon near her and the boy starring at her. What caught her off guard was the black slit pupils and red eyes staring at her.

"**Shut up" **said Naruto in a cold tone. The dark chakra he was excluding made Shizune go stiff and customers around them look a little wary at the table.

"You wanna take this outside, kid? I'll gladly send you crying back to the village" said Tsunade. It wasn't mean to be taken seriously, she was a sanin so she assumed he'd back down after she threatened him but he pocketed his kunai and stood. Tsunade wasn't going to back down either way and followed him outside, the others in tow.

"You've got till someone taps out or one minute goes by" said Jiraiya.

"You really think he's going to last a minute?" asked Tsunade, rolling her shoulders as Naruto pulled up his hood and his scarf.

"Don't hold back" said Sasuke. He wished it was him, not Naruto, because he really wanted to kick that lady's teeth in for speaking to the dead kages and most ninja like that.

"Start!" said Jiraiya and Naruto took off. Tsunade scoffed and thrust a single finger forward to bounce him back but that didn't happen. Her hand seemed to faze through him as his head suddenly appeared inches from her finger.

'_What kind of genjutsu is that!?' _thought Tsunade in bewilderment before hoping a swift knee would take him down. This time Naruto placed both his hands on her knee then spun his leg around as he tried to connect his foot to the side of her head. The sanin quickly brought up her arm to block the attack but the force behind it send her skidding a few feet to the side. The blonde woman regained her bearings and turned to face Naruto only to feel his foot impact her left side. The blow picked her up off the ground and tossed her almost ten feet across the street before she skidding to a halt and Naruto landed on the ground.

"You're really about to piss me off kid" said Tsunade before she saw Naruto fly through hand seals and her blood almost ran cold. She knew those by heart, why was he…it was impossible for him to do this! He's a genin!

"**Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu (Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique)!" **said Naruto before a water dragon formed from thin air and flew at Tsunade. The sanin growled a bit and slammed her foot down before thrusting her fist forward, obliterating the dragon. As the water fell around them and cleared her view she saw Jiraiya standing between the two and strange daggers now in Naruto's hands.

"That's enough, you'll level this town if you go any further" said Jiraiya. As much as she hate to admit it, he was stronger than her and the kid so there was no point in arguing or trying to beat him.

"Whatever, let's get out of here Shizune" said Tsunade, walking off as her assistant ran after her.

"Did you really have to go that far? You didn't need to use that jutsu and you knew I'd step in if you pulled those out" said Jiraiya, turning to Naruto.

"If I didn't have you stop me things may have gotten far more out of hand. I'm not in the mood to play with her and I was nearly about to let loose" said Naruto, letting his daggers disappear as his team walked up to him.

"I need to have a private conversation with her, to figure out what Orochimaru wanted. You three can do whatever but try to stay out of trouble" said the sanin, trusting the three before he took off walking where Tsunade went.

"What do you want to do?" asked Naruto, turning to his group.

"I'd like to check out that ninja shop nearby since we left all our tools at home. Never know what we might need" said Yugito.

Sasuke shrugged "Sure, I had an idea for something anyway."

"Shop it is" said Naruto, once more taking to the roofs. They sailed across the small village and arrived near the shop in almost two minutes. Naruto walked in first, holding the door open for Yugito and Sasuke.

"Welcome to Shein's ninja shop. Where's your jonin sensei? I don't see genin like you three running around unsupervised.

"We're with a sanin" said Yugito nonchalantly as she passed by, causing him to choke on his spit.

"S-sanin? Jiraiya is nearby?" asked Shein, knowing Tsunade stayed away from Konoha and Orochimaru was well…..Orochimaru.

"Yeah, Tsunade and Orochimaru are nearby too last I checked. Fought that snotty bitch, still can't find snake skin" responded Naruto, glancing threw some gear.

"You have some crazy friends, kids."

"Tell me about it" said Sasuke, sifting around some spears.

"What are you three looking for?" asked Shein.

"I think we're all here for different things" said Naruto, picking up some armor plating while Sasuke got a few spears and Yugito picked out a few scrolls for taijutsu and fire manipulation.

"How much?" asked Sasuke, motioning to all their combined items.

"Total is 102,135.60 yen and I'll give you all a twenty percent discount since you three bought so much. So the total comes out to 81,708.48 yen" said Shein. The three pooled bills and change together before setting it on the counter. Shein sifted through it all, checking to make sure it was all there before sealing it away and pocketing the scroll.

"That'll do it, take care you three."

"Will do Shein!" said Naruto as they sealed what they bought away and walked outside.

"Now what?" asked Sasuke.

"Sleep" said Naruto, yawning a bit.

"Where at?" asked Yugito.

"The hotel down the street, Jiraiya sent a clone there when we took off after that blonde bimbo earlier" said Naruto, turning left as his team followed. It wasn't far, even by walking it wasn't but just a five minutes down the street.

Yugito walked up to the receptionist and spoke "Reservation for Jiraiya."

"Third floor, room 322 and here are the keys" said the woman, handing them three keys.

"Thank you" said the blonde girl before walking down the hall with Sasuke and Naruto in tow. They followed her up three flights of stairs and into the room before she handed them each their own key.

"Let's get some rest" said Naruto, walking to one of the four rooms and brining his bed into the one with two beds. The three stripped off their gear, leaving them in their usual training attire they had on with Kakashi.

"Sleep well" murmured Yugito.

"Night" said Sasuke.

"Night" retorted Naruto before the room went silent as they fell asleep.

Next Day

Naruto woke up and slowly sat up, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. As soon as he sat up he noticed the note stuck to his forehead and removed it to read it.

'_Hey, its' your friendly neighborhood Great Toad Sage! I didn't find her earlier so I decided to keep looking around the town which is waaaaay bigger than I wanted it to be. I'll be in touch around noon so make sure you at the apartment around that time. See ya later sunshine!'_

"Looks like we're stuck inside for the day" said Naruto as his team stirred.

"Whyyyyyy?" whined Yugito as she rolled in her bed.

"The perv said he'd be here around noon to check on us so we have to wait here for him" said Naruto, throwing his legs over the side.

"I'll get breakfast going" said Naruto.

"Woo" said Sasuke dryly, tossing his arms in the air from where he lay on the bed.

Twenty minutes later

"Good eggs and sausage" said Sasuke as Naruto sat down next to Yugito on the couch and Sasuke sat alone in the big chair. As they enjoyed their meal a knock came to the door and Naruto froze, his sensory skills kicking into high gear before he signaled his team with anbu code.

'_High level ninja outside, two and one feels like…..Itachi which means he's playing Akatsuki at the moment' _said Naruto through code.

'_What do we do?' _ asked Yugito.

'_Sasuke, go to the room on the left and get ready to attack. Yugito, go above and wait for me to send out a burst of chakra before shooting a fireball directly under you. Break' _said Naruto, throwing a quickly concealment genjutsu over the two as they made their move around the building and Naruto stood.

"Once second!" said Naruto, moving to the door. He let out a breath and opened the door.

"Hello Naruto-kun, can you come with us quietly please?" asked Itachi, his partner Kisame right behind him. Naruto knew him from the bingo books and he hoped Sasuke didn't do something stupid and try to swamp the place with that water seal he gave Sasuke.

"If you promise it won't hurt too much" said Naruto, stalling for time.

"Just go with anyone who asks kid?" said Kisame with a smirk.

"I've seen your bingo book, no point in fighting alone. I won't get anywhere" said Naruto.

"Fair enough" said the fish man but he wished the brat would run so he'd get to take off a leg…possible an arm while he was at it. Then the boy sent out a short but noticeable burst of chakra and before Kisame knew it his form was engulfed in blue fire.

Kisame smirked as his sword sent chakra to heal him "Not bad, burns a little." Just as his skin was returning to normal color he noticed something coated in chakra suddenly appear in his sensed. The swordsmen reacted with what little time he had and shifted right but not far enough as a spear coating in lightning went straight through his arm. The weapon hit right where the shoulder blade was, cutting off the entire arm as it passed through and kept going through the building. Kisame seemed frozen, he let his senses dull too much and some kid down the hall took off his left arm.

Red began to bleed into his sight before he heard someone speak **"Saisho no ippo(First step)!" **A sudden gust of wind flowed around them and send both Kisame and Itachi through the room across the hall and tossing them into the river running parallel to the building.

"I'll kill 'em!" shouted Kisame, his chakra flaring violently as he stood but oddly Itachi held a hand on his shoulder.

"What?" growled out the taller man.

"It seems we need to abandon our purist for now. The sanin has arrived" said Itachi and Kisame turned to see Jiraiya standing on the water across from them. Kisame was absolutely furious, all he saw was red and that man was his new target. The fish like man charged, ripping his sword out and swinging it as hard as he could at the white haired man. Jiraiya acted quickly by redirecting the sword up when he shoved a rasengan on the flat side of the weapon. As soon as the weapon was deflected the sanin slammed knee into Kisame's stomach, then a hard fist to his nose and finish off by drop kicking him back into the water. Kisame saw the man jump back as a hail of kunai was thrown his way and sensed Itachi standing next to him. He saw Itachi fire off a fireball only for another one to suddenly appear from the sage to cancel Itachi's. Kisame's partner placed a hand on his shoulder as the two fireballs battles and used a shunshin to get them away.

Jiraiya let out a sigh and made sure he didn't sense them nearby before jumping up to the third floor where the others were.

"I wanted to check on you but I didn't think you'd be starting a small battle with kage level ninja" said Jiraiya, walking up to Naruto as Sasuke and Yugito did the same.

"We try but I'm just happy Itachi didn't retaliate. I wouldn't have gotten them outside if he hadn't let me use my first step on them" said Naruto.

"He knew I was coming, he most likely sensed me when Yugito shot off that fireball. He won't hold too many punches like that again so be careful. They won't come back knowing I'm around but go ahead and move to the hotel across the town. I'll pay for the damages" said Jiraiya, walking off towards the stairs.

"Ugh, more moving around" said Yugito, already upset they'd have to get dressed up again to go across town.

"Let's go like this and we'll train in that field near the other hotel" said Naruto.

"Perfect" said Sasuke before the three took off across the small town. They stopped briefly to rent a room, this time in the corner of the top floor just in case anything happened, before going a few miles from the field.

"This should be good" said Naruto, unsealing some weapons.

"Let's get this started" said Sasuke, getting his spears out.

"You boys sure are excited" said Yugito, bringing one of her scrolls out.

One week later

"Shizune-san? What are you doing here?" asked Yugito as she walked in the living room from her shower to see Shizune, Naruto and Sasuke.

"I needed to speak to Jiraiya-sama, I fear Tsuande may have made a deal with Orochimaru in turn for her deceased loved ones to return."

"He's held up at the moment, I found him drugged up a few minutes ago" said Naruto, motioning to the sage sitting on the ground near the couch.

"I can move, you just didn't want to wait for me to walk" said Jiraiya.

"Can you fight?" asked Naruto.

"Course I can fight" said Jiraiya, standing up as Naruto, Sasuke and Yugito were engulfed in smoke. The cloud of smoke quickly dispersed to reveal the three now donning their full gear.

"I'll lead the way, I can sense some chakra being dispersed near where we trained this past week" said Naruto, checking his gear as Yugito opened the large window.

"Ready?" asked Sasuke to Shizune and she nodded her head.

"Let's go then" said Naruto taking off as the others trailed closely behind him. They flew through the trees, moving as fast as they could while Shizune explained things.

"Tsunade was offered to heal Orochimaru's arms in exchange he'd bring her lover and brother. She's had a week to think about it and I think they're meeting up right now" said Shizune.

"It feels like a battle's going on with the fluctuation of chakra which means she most likely said no" said Naruto.

"How do we approach this?" asked Yugito.

"We can't just appear between them and have a nice chat, we need to use the surprise to our advantage. Got any long range attacks?" asked Jiraiya, knowing full well he couldn't use his.

"I've got a long range wind attack, if you guys want to follow up after than at close range we'd be good. I'll use a genjutsu to cover you while Yugito and Sasuke go after Orochimaru so Shizune and Jiraiya can check on Tsunade" said Naruto.

"Good with me" said the sanin.

"I'll set it up now, we're getting close. It won't cover sound so be careful" said Naruto, moving through a few hand seals before dropping below as his team disappeared all together. As soon as he hit ground Naruto took off with a chakra push, speeding through the forest and getting almost half way across the field and stopping.

The blond went through more hand seals, sucked in his breath and spoke **"Futon: Daitoppa (Wind Release: Great Breakthrough)!" **As soon as he exhaled a large blast of wind swooped across the land and forced Orochimaru and his sidekick Kabuto to jump back from pursuing Tsunade.

"The kyuubi child? What's he doing here?" asked Orochimaru.

"Saving a bratty, spoiled child" said a voice before Orochimaru tilted his head as a spear coating in lightning past where his head used to be. As that happened Kabuto threw two kunai to force a suddenly appeared Yugito to jump back before deflecting the needles Shizune had sent his way with his headband.

"Looks like reunion I didn't want to happen" chuckled Orochimaru, seeing Jiraiya behind the three kids now standing in front of him. Now, he wasn't going to lie. They actually looked quiet formidable for their age. Tsunade was in awe, she expected to die and now Jiraiya and Shizune stood at her side and those three kids from before blocked Orochimaru and his right hand man. Sasuke stood on the right, his top already off with a spear in his right hand. Naruto had his daggers out and you could feel the bijuu chakra emanating from him. Yugito was the same, her bijuu chakra was felt but her hands and feet were encased in a blaze of blue fire while she held two kunai.

"It seems I need to show you kids just how outclassed you are" said Kabuto, drawing a kunai as he lifted up his glasses a bit.

"Be careful Kabuto, I don't need to remind you that I can't do much for a few minutes. My body needs to settle after getting hit by Tsunade's chakra ball."

"Yes sir" said the silver haired man before he shot off at Naruto. Normal genin would have an obvious difficulty keeping up with jonin speed but Naruto and his team had trained with anbu so their perception was much greater. Kabuto jumped left to avoid Yugito's kunai, slide under Sasuke's spear thrust before parrying Naruto's twin daggers. He quickly kicked the blonde away before rolling to avoid the hail of shuriken then he slammed his palms together around the shaft of the spear.

"He can coat his hands in chakra!" said Shizune.

"We know" said Yugito before Kabuto felt something impact his side and send him skidding to a stop near Orochimaru.

"Hey guys" said Naruto in a dark tone, confusing those around him.

"Yeah?" asked Yugito, somewhat on edge with all the bijuu chakra he was excluding.

"That's the same chakra signature I felt from the clone that attacked Akahana."

Kabuto smirked "Oh, that girl? I had made kunai especially to go through those bones of hers and kill quickly. It seems they did a fine job as I had hoped." As soon as he said that chakra darker than anything they'd sensed shot out of Sasuke as purple lightning began to crackle around him. Naruto was no different, a red cloak akin to a fox had surrounded him as two tails sprouted while Yugito's cloak was blue with a single tail.

Orochimaru frowned "Things may get complicated. The Uchiha boy, his chakra shouldn't be that dark.

Naruto aimed his palm at the two **"Dai shi dankai(Fourth Step)." **A small ball of swirling wind formed in his hand and shot out, landing next to the two before expanded to force them apart.

"Someone's been imitating the Hyuuga defense" said Orochimaru before he ducked to avoid a claw from Naruto. What shocked Orochimaru was the long range of the claw, a massive gust of wind flew back and leveled the a small section of the forest behind them. Then he pulled out his own sword to deflect the blonde's claws. What worried the sanin was how with each parry he could see the blade chipping away.

'_How did the brat get so strong all the sudden? His wrath and anger shouldn't increase his power so much!' _thought Orochimaru before he substituted with an earth clone.

"Kabuto!" shouted the sanin only to see his right hand struggling to match the bijuu enhanced female and sharingan wielder Upon hearing his name called Kabuto also substituted himself and appeared next to Orochimaru.

"Manda is needed" was all Orochimaru said before Kabuto wiped some blood on the seal on Orochimaru's arm. As soon as he did the man pressed his hand on the ground as a giant cloud of smoke appeared in front of the other sanin.

"Tsunade…" warned Jiraiya, knowing he couldn't summon his own at the moment.

"I know, I'll get on it" said Tsuande before Yugito appeared in front of the two sanin and Shizune.

"Don't bother, Sasuke's got it" said the young girl before everyone felt the spike of chakra overhead.

"**Kaminoyari(God's spear)" **said Sasuke before throwing the spear incased in dark purple lighting down on the head of the snake and pinning it under the small object. When the spear hit both Orochimaru and Kabuto jumped back but as soon as they did Naruto and a clone appeared behind them, swinging their daggers to create a shockwave of energy that sent them sailing back towards the snake. As soon as Naruto and his clone disappeared Yugito flew through hand seals and took a giant breath.

"**Katon: Gōka Mekkyaku(Fire release: Majestic Flame Destroyer)" **said Yugito before she let out her breath and a massive wall of fire erupted from her mouth, covering the entire body of Manda and beyond that. Tsunade had seen that move used by her sensei, it was much larger when he had used it but a genin to use that move so well was…unheard of. Slowly her breath died and the fire came to a stop as Naruto and Sasuke appeared next to their teammate in shunshin.

"He disappeared with his fuck buddy" said Naruto his chakra died down and his daggers disappeared. Sasuke followed suit, letting his chakra die down and Yugito's cloak dispersed as well.

"I guess you chose to come with us then, huh?" asked Naruto, turning around.

"Only because I owe those I loved, that's it" said Tsunade, turning her head away. She wouldn't say but those kids battling helped her decided as well to help the village if only to not let children like this be created again. These were war children, made for combat and ruthless tactics by training with anbu and under a former anbu captain. It was a peaceful time, it wasn't needed.

"Hey, perv. We've got a problem" said Yugito.

"What's that?"

"Edian isn't here and it's been a week" said the two tailed container.

Jiraiya frowned "I noticed that but I wanted to see if she showed up this past week. I have an idea as to what happened to her but it's not pretty."

"Death is all around us and you still speak about it like we were kids?" asked Tsuande and Jiraiya frowned, telling her that it wasn't death. If it wasn't death….oh dear, Tsunde may feel for that woman more than she thought if that was her fate.

"There was a group of hunter ninja out for Itachi and Kisame, a mix of villages running amuck but if they didn't find them then they would kidnap and trade any ninja of decent level. They most likely got hold of her and sold her into the slave trade."

"Looks like we'll go get her then" said Naruto, popping a soldier pill before Yugito and Sasuke did the same.

"We know most of the one's near fire country and the closest one here is near the border of fire and wind country. We'll head there while you take Tsunade and Shizune to Konoha" said Naruto.

Jiraiya sighed "Fine but I need to warn you. This is an international business, tied in with people from around the nation's in every position. Don't mess with them or try to bust out. Play their rules and don't cheat. If anyone is found cheating they kill everyone at that auction, no buts about it. So be prepared when you go in, you won't come out the same."

Naruto nodded his head "We will, thank you. Let's go, it's a good day run to the auction house." With that the three disappeared.

"Will they be alright? They're still kids" said Tsuande.

"They will, those three just showed me that they can work together to get anything done. I've got contacts near there I'll send to watch over them as well."

A day later

"We need to rest as soon as we get done with this" said Naruto. He knew everyone was tired, they had just finished a battle that took a lot out of them then ran for nearly a day. Now Sasuke was acting as a buyer while he concealed himself and Yugito with a kistune genjutsu to ensure they stayed hidden.

"I think there's one more and if it isn't her we'll move to the next one" said Sasuke.

"Lastly we have another female ninja for you all. She was a long and hard fought one against some powerful foes so her price will be quiet hefty" said the announcer before the door opened and out walked a woman. She had short blond hair, piercing red eyes with one covered by her hair, white eyelashes, a soft but almost angular face. He stood just above 5'4" and her garb told the three it was who they needed. She had on the typical Suna flat jacket, a basic tan shirt, white pants and brown ninja sandals. Her hand and ankles were shackled and let to a neck collar.

"We'll start at 100,000 ryo!"

"115,000!" "117,000!" "125,000!" "135,000!" "170,000!" shouted many before Sasuke spoke.

"300,000." The room stopped and bidding ceased. This was a small auction, no one here was going to waste that kind of money on her.

"Going once…..twice…..sold! Please come to the door on the right and pay your fee before you leave" said the man as the bidders who one walked through the door. Naruto frowned but decided to wait outside in the trees above until Sasuke and Edian came out.

With Sasuke

"Thank you for your payment" said a teller before motioning him to the last room. Sasuke walked inside and noticed Edian sitting with a strange marking on her neck. A man motioned for Sasuke before writing the same one on the left side of his neck.

"What's this for?"

"It's a collar of sorts, marking you as the owner and her as the product. It allows for full control over her, no village can ask anything of her without your permission. As of now it's only a collar but I will go through additions for you to use."

"Is this seal mandatory?" asked Sasuke.

"Yes sir, now I'll list things we have and stop me when you find one you like. Range limit, shock collar, lose of body functions, contractions control, sensory and control of the mind and what is said."

"What does the sensory refer to?" asked Sasuke.

"You can pinpoint her anywhere in the world along with being able to sense within a fifty foot radius around her."

"Add that" said Sasuke and a small additional kanji was written in a small square tattoo before it glowed briefly.

"That is all sir, thank you for your purchase." Sasuke didn't speak a word as he lead Edian out of the compound and deep into the woods surrounding it.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that" said the Uchiha, confusing the blonde. Why would her owner care what she thought? She was a slave now.

"There's someone you need to meet." She tensed when two people dropped down in front of them but calmed a little after she noticed they were wearing similar gear. The one wearing blue stepped forward and stood in front of her before removing his hood and scarf.

"Edian…..I'm so sorry this happened" said Naruto. He knew her somewhat well, they exchanged many letters throughout the course of his childhood. He had seen her once a few years back but he never wanted to see her like this. He knew the slave collar well, it was made by Uzumaki's after all. As soon as Edian saw his face she let her tears fall, she was in good hands. This past week she was sure she'd be abused until death found her but with a friend of Naruto….things would be much more bearable. Naruto let Edian cry for a moment in his shoulder, he knew her worries and this must have been a great relief for her.

"We need to get going" said Naruto as Edian moved away from him.

"Why? Isn't Jiraiya-sama on the way?" asked the elder blonde woman.

"He will be so we need to move now. We'll explain on the way" said Naruto before he took off with Yugito. Sasuke looked to her and she nodded her head then followed after as Sasuke trailed last. The group of four sailed along the border of wind country, moving past Rain and Stone country before veering into the uncharted area's on the far outreaches of the world. They took a few breaks to catch their breaths but didn't stop for more than five minutes. They rushed deep inside the unknown land before arriving at a massively forested area.

Edian remembered the seal Naruto had placed on her that had disappeared and his words with it _'No one will ever see this key…Don't look like that, you'll see soon enough what this key goes to.' _Once she followed the three into the tree line her jaw nearly dropped. There in front of them was a massive village, filled with people and not a tree in site.

"It's a genjutsu made long ago to preserve the secrecy of this land. No one without a key can enter, all they would find is trees. This is the place I mentioned, the base of our operations for the new group we created. Join up" said Naruto as everyone place a hand on someone's shoulder before Naruto teleported them away.

**XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX**

The scenery changed from a bustling stone city to a large war meeting room with a map of the nations on it. Surrounding it was a mass of men and women wearing a mix of gear from across all the nations.

"Welcome to the Brotherhood Edian" said Sasuke, patting her on the shoulder.

"How did things go?" asked someone from the other side of the table while people moved to allow view of the speaker.

"Tiring but well sensei" said Naruto, looking at Kakashi. Yes, this was what the third wanted, what he had created. A force untouched by the five nations, solely responsible for cleaning up the world and fixing what has been destroyed.

"Good, now we'll inaugurate Edian later. Get some rest for now."

"Gotcha" said Naruto, turning on his heel and walked off with his group.

"I'll lead you to the barracks for our group and we can speak more about this situation tomorrow. Kami knows we all need rest" said the Uzumaki.

**And that's a wrap! I know it's long and the battles short but let's be real for a second. The guy couldn't mold chakra, his arms didn't work and suddenly Kabuto was better than everyone for that scene when he gets beat to shit other times by the sanin. This seemed more likely with three strong genin that had nothing but aces up their sleeve fighting a man with no arms or chakra and someone on Kakashi's level. The Edian thing was more a spur of the moment, cause I never see slave things in here. Like, one popped up a few weeks ago but that's it. Their everywhere and I wanted to experiment with this for a bit. Here's the kanji and it's somewhat small, about half an inch in both length and height.**

**奴隷****-slave/servant seal origin **

**跡****-trace/tracker addition **

**奴隷跡****-full sign on left side of their neck**

**Alright, that's that guys and girls. I'll post a new chapter whenever but this one is large so don't expect anything too soon. Take care everyone, see ya!**


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey lovely kids, I'm back and better than ever. Thought I'd never get attention on this, lost life and other stories but I'm back to finish what I started. Enjoy this slow chapter and remember, the quotes always usual a theme or ideal for the chapter.**

'_To improve is to change; To be perfect is to change often' ~ Winston Churchill _

Chapter 7

Deidara was having a pretty decent day, got into Suna pretty easily and took care of their watchmen before luring out the Kazekage. Now, he wouldn't admit it to just anyone but this young kage was quite the tough one. He was just like Yagura but Yagura was a brutal killer, this one was too passive. Well he thought the red head was too passive before ripping his arm off.

"Maa, that didn't feel too good" said the clay user.

"It wasn't supposed to" said Gaara, trying to drawn this battle on as long as he could. He was running low on chakra and there wasn't much left for him to do. The village near the battle was evacuated so no casualties would result but these men traveled in pairs so it was only a matter of time until the second one decided to come out.

"Dragging this one won't do you much, not against someone like me. I can keep going as long as you can and my partner will just clean up whatever's left of you and this village. Wanna keep dancing or just going to come quietly. If you go without a fight we won't mess with anyone around here, you have my word" said the blonde man, holding his only arm up.

"What value does the word of a dead man hold?" said a voice before the bird Deidara was on was sliced in half and the clay user landed on the roof just across from Gaara. In a turn of events he didn't see coming someone in a cloak he knew too well appeared next to him.

"You damn Brotherhood even come to the aid of kages? What kind of underground organization does that?"

"He's an old friend" said the figure, and turning to Gaara, who turned to him.

"I see, let us continue then" said the kage with his stoic visage still on under the new revelation.

"A second weakling is just that, a weakling. Two of you won't make a difference!" shouted Deidara, shooting off a multitude of clay birds off at the two.

The blue cloaked figure flew through hand signs then lowered the scarf around his neck and spoke **Futon: Renkudan (Wind Release: Drilling Air Bullet)!" **As he exhaled, bullets created entirely of compressed air shot out of his mouth, hitting the birds in mid flight and forcing them to explode much earlier than intended. Deidara used the momentary cloud of smoke to summon a new mount before taking back to the sky where he was in his comfort zone. The mount flew high then leveled out, letting Deidara see down and notice only Gaara was present.

"There are much more of my abilities you know nothing about from our last encounter" said a voice that seemed to come from everywhere before the clay user felt multiple slashes around his body. In a desperate attempt he jumped off his bird and let it explode, covering a good portion of the sky above in a fireball. Already lower on chakra than expected, the ex Iwa ninja summoned one last bird before taking to the gates of Suna. A kage was one thing for him, but those Brotherhood guys, especially the one in the blue, was not something he alone was ready for. The fourth Kazekage watched as the bird flew past the gates, dipped down and continued on in the now rising sun. Just as he was losing sight Gaara noticed Temari appear next to him the same instant the cloaked figure from before appeared from nothing next to him.

"Gaara, are you ok?!"asked his sister, approaching him but thankfully looking nothing worse for wear.

"I am fine, just a little low on chakra. Our friend here intervened just in time to chase off my assailant and his partner at the gates" said Gaara.

Temari looked relieved before it turned to sadness "Kankuro was injured fighting the ninja at the gates. Apparently some kind of poison was in the blade which is causing him a lot of pain. We don't know the extent of his injuries but we've been keeping him under so he isn't in too much pain."

"I'll send for a medic from Konoha specialized in poison immediately and-" The cloaked figure held up his hand.

"We've already contacted them and there is a medic with two escorts on the way as we speak. They should arrive around noon tomorrow. We know the poison well and we've already prepared the antidote but we need a good medic to remove it before we administer it. I have a teammates with the medic making ground and another is inside the village, scanning for any additional threats."

Gaara nodded his head "Thank you, Temari is Baki available?"

"He's standing guard at the gate while we gather new guards."

"Very well, both of you let's go to my office to talk then please." Temari was still wary of the newcomer but if he wanted to do anything to Gaara he wouldn't have helped him. She opted to just keep her wits about her and keep focus on the cloaked figure who seemed all too familiar as they walked into the office and she shut the door.

"No need for that hood and scarf, Naruto. It's been a while since I last heard from you. Your letter a year ago asking for some supplies delivered to wave with payment was the last we talked. How have things been?" Naruto shed his hood and scarf before sitting down across from Gaara, a smile on his face.

"Well, the supplies was sent to help start a little side project of ours and you had some metals and alloy we needed to make some other building materials. I'm sure by now you've heard the rumors of my group, The Brotherhood."

"Here and there amongst our ninja and contacts, you have a stretch across every village. No one's been able to get a solid lock on anything your group has been doing. I assume you came here more than too just help me out with that battle though." Naruto crossed his leg over the other and intertwined his fingers as another figure appeared next to Naruto in a shunsin, fully hooded in a black and red cloak.

"Take a seat, we're about to discuss business" said Naruto. The hooded figure stayed silent, sitting next to Naruto as Temari stayed in the back, surprised at his entrance but choosing to keep quiet for the moment.

"So, what kind of business deal are we discussing?" asked Gaara, going back into his stoic kage mode. He may have just battled shortly alongside the one who saved him from his own darkness but business was still business.

"The Brotherhood needs missions, a more consistent flow of money than just bounty hunting. It provides but only so much. We have a lot to fund, we aren't consolidated so branches across the nations need constant upkeep. Having access to missions that your teams either cannot do, or require more man power are what we can take up. We also can just be paid sums for information for missions you are taking on but know little about. A mutual partnership of terms, one we hold with Konoha at the moment."

"I haven't heard of any outings where your people are used for anything Konoha related" said Gaara, seeing if he was just calling some bluff.

"We've only done a few assassinations, corrupt politicians, rouge ninja they don't want in bingo books but they mostly use us for information. Jiraiya may get around but his contacts aren't as organized or as resourceful as us in some terms. The Brotherhood in essence is a middle man, but one willing to take action if given the order."

"I see, now before I go off and agree to this what is this underground group's goal?"

"World peace is unattainable, unless you have a total dictatorship it will be impossible to keep every single person happy at once for any amount of time. We wish to do our best to stop needless wars like the last few we've had, keep the powers in check if you will. Those treated unfairly are helped, and those with an abundance of gains unlawfully attained will be forced to deal away with parts of it."

"Unlawful is a vague term in the ninja world" retorted Gaara.

"The income from killing your opposition, created monopolies like the one Gato used to run. We took that over a few years ago and spread out his company to different groups we have contact with. They go to keeping a healthy competition, keeping prices low as well as creating more jobs in the process. These are the things we do, and we do not favor one over the other when it comes to villages. Our group wishes to see a world in unity and a world where a war isn't looming ever few decades."

"If I may ask, what other villages do you have contact with? I would like to know who all you have cooperation with.

"In terms of the nations we have Fire, River, Mist, Waterfall, Snow and a few other small countries in-between." Gaara said nothing for a few more second, keeping direct eye contact with Naruto before closing his eyes.

"Very well, we will allow it. However, if we are to send someone on mission how is the payment received?"

"They will come to the office to collect the payment directly from you and no one else. We only deal with the leader directly, a matter of secrecy and security" said Naruto.

"Then I hope this partnership goes well" said Gaara standing and holding his hand out. Naruto stood as well, shaking the kages hand before they let go.

"I did forget to ask. Who leads this entire group?"

"We have leaders separated by branch and we have no overruling leader that has total contorl. I lead my own team, which we are now somewhat the cover face for our organization. My sensei leads the largest, and the original group far from here which we have recently moved due to some issues with poor placement and vulnerability. Then we have smaller leaders throughout the rest of the world, with their own divisions they keep track of but we usually all report to the largest branch as a base. The original keeps track on everything and has turned into our information hub, backing away from the light to keep what we have hidden from the world."

"By sensei, I assume Kakashi."

"Yes."

"What of this group you spoke of?"

"Just myself, the one next to me, our other two teammates which are both out at the moment. Is there anywhere you want us to stay specifically?

"Of course, there is a guest house just across from my own. Do you know where it is?" All he got was a nod of Naruto's head before the two exited the room and down the hall. Gaara motioned for Temari to sit down in front of him before ushering her to speak her mind.

"Recently, a group emerged around the nations seen running missions with the Brotherhood. No one's been able to confirm too much of it but with how they were overheard speaking it's assumed they are part of the group."

"Do you think this new group is possible to go rouge from the Brotherhood Naruto spoke of?" asked Gaara.

Temari shook her head "No but…..the word is their leader shares a striking resemblance to Naruto. He's the only one anyone's see of this group. The bingo book just uses the same group name the leader uses and refers his team to. The Sins."

"The sins? As in, the seven sins?"

"Yes, we know that the current group is a four man team while the other three have been heard in passing but never seen."

"I see, I'll bring it up with Naruto later. Thank you Temari" said Gaara before turning around to face the rising sun.

'_What kind of mess are you locked up in now Naruto?'_ asked Gaara to himself.

With Naruto

"What have you two found out?" asked Naruto, once they arrived at the guest house. Naruto had made himself comfortable on a large chair as Sasuke sat on the couch, Edian now sitting next to him. She didn't wear the same attire they did though, keeping to a new style of her own making. She had on a plain black long sleeved zip up jacket with gold etching, a plain white shirt underneath, black ninja pants and black heeled ninja sandals.

"Nothing much happened inside, just the fight with Gaara and the one with his brother outside the gate. They moved in a pair like usual, and it was the pair we were hunting a few months ago before we got called back in" said Sasuke, placing an arm around Edian's shoulder and bringing her close to him.

"Sasori and Deidara, the weakest duo of the Akatsuki by our estimations. They most likely went to that base just east in River so they won't be hard to track" said Naruto.

"How long was it till Yugito gets here with that medic and her escorts?"

"Around noon, and then once Kankuro is taken care of we can move on. Showing we are waiting for the kages brother to heal is a good start of our alliance and the better one is taking care of his enemies."

"They're ours too, you and Yugito wanted them gone too" said Edian.

"Two birds, one stone" shrugged Naruto, pouring a glass of bourbon for himself, Edian and Sasuke, leaving one cup left.

"Get some rest if you can, we won't be stopping for breaks like our teammate gets too once we take off from here" said Naruto, relaxing in the chair as he closed his eyes.

An hour before noon- kage office

"You wanted to talk, Gaara" said Naruto walking in a new outfit. He no longer had his usual blue cloak on and took a new look all together. He now had on a plain long sleeved blue shirt, a short sleeved black long tail jacket with a gold Uzu swirl on the back. His pants were a simple grey with blue ninja sandals.

"Yes, thank you for coming. A matter has come to my attention from my ninja, something of a group called The Sins has appeared throughout the grapevine and word is they are connected with your group. Is there any light you can shed on this?" asked Gaara, eyeing him in his usual relaxed manner but Naruto saw through it, he knew Gaara knew more than he spoke of, and he most likely knew of Naruto's own involvement by the rumors.

Naruto sat down and crossed his legs "Yes, they are affiliated with our group. They are our elite task force, seven members of a group created to combat Akatsuki to be exact. Normal ninja cannot fight S-rank criminals so we made a group that could."

"Are you, per chance, a part of this group?"

Naruto narrowed his eyes and Gaara held up a hand "Please, let me restate my stance. I wish to know if someone I consider a friend of mine is part of a group I now know is prepared to combat a very powerful organization."

Naruto sighed then spoke "Yes, I am part of this group."

"May I be filled in on some of this? I don't plan on sharing this with anyone but I do what to know what it is exactly that may be doing some of the missions I have for you all."

"Yes, of course. As I said, there are seven members including myself. I am the leader of the group, Wrath. My companion is Greed, and both of my two teammates are also within this group. The others are inside the Brotherhood but do their own business on their own time, acting with us only for crisis issues."

"Do these titles have meaning or are they just that, names?" Naruto's silence was all the response Gaara needed.

"Very well, your teammate and the medic should be arriving at the medical wing soon so I will head there now. You are welcome to join me if you wish."

"I will, my own teammate is already there and waiting for us to join" said Naruto, standing and walking behind Gaara the hospital.

Noon

Naruto watched as the door opened almost right at noon and he saw a Konoha team, along with his own teammate, walk in. She moved quickly to take her spot next to himself and Sasuke, showing that they all changed into new gear. Sasuke had on a sleeveless white shirt, black pants tapped into black ninja sandals and black metal bracers. Yugito wore a tight short sleeve black shirt under a royal purple long sleeved, long tail jacket with black pants and black heeled ninja sandals. They had agreed it was time for a change a few months ago, after realizing they needed to distance themselves from the Brotherhood a little in looks. They were seen everywhere since they did the most public missions and it was bringing too much light onto an organization that was mean to remain in the shadows of the world. That was the other purpose of the Sins, to push the light off the Brotherhood and redirect it on a group supposedly a different, much stronger, group.

"How did things go?" asked Naruto to Yugito.

"Mostly ok, but as you can tell they insisted all of Team Guy go to escort her here. I couldn't argue much with it, they didn't want a prized medic running to another village under threat with just two guards."

"Understandable but did you already brief Sakura on everything she needed to know?"

"Yes, she prepared some salve and water while we took breaks so she's fully ready to go."

"Good work" said Naruto before they stood back and watched. Sakura made quick work, completing everything needed within a few hours of work. It was a somewhat struggle to keep Kankuro still since he had to be awake for the majority of the operation but moving past it she did go by fairly fast. Now he was asleep and resting after fighting the poison then enduring the painful operation.

"So, it seems you had some help taking on the Akatsuki guys" said Guy, turning to Naruto's team as he spoke to Gaara.

"They were key in driving off those two rouge ninja and I owe my life to them. I wouldn't be talking to you all if they had not interfered."

"Sasuke…." said Sakura with sorrow, looking to the last Uchiha who left Konoha with his team three years ago.

"Well, we must be off now that things have been settled with your brother, Kazekage. To put your mind at ease, we will be going after the ones responsible immediately. If you will excuse us" said Naruto, bowing for his team before the moved to walk out of the door but stopped when Neji spoke.

"With all due respect, you would need more help fighting S-rank ninja. We are here to provide fighting assistance as well" said the Hyuuga but Naruto held a hand out.

"No worries, we have been following these two for a few months now and know more about them than anyone else would. We've finally gotten to a point where when can control the way the fight begins instead of them running into us constantly. My group can handle ourselves just fine but you guys make sure that medic stay safe. She quite skilled at what she does." With his final words the group left and disappeared in the halls, heading straight out of the village and towards River country.

"We've got a farmer that sent a message this morning, a large bird with two men atop was seen veering down just north east of here. Looks like they moved to their hideout to rest and prepare for another assault so they won't expect a surprise attack from us" said Edian, suddenly appearing. This was the group Naruto had worked with for three years running now around the world, Greed, Envy and Lust. Their largest targets yet were cornered, unsuspecting and filled with contempt. It was almost the perfect set up, for them anyway.

Four hours later

Deidara was nursing the wound where his arm used to be as Sasori was waiting around.

"We need to hurry, leader wants that jinchuuriki within the next day" said the hunched over, gruff voice man.

"Keep your pants on, I lost a damn arm for crying out loud! I'm just trying to keep myself from bleeding out then we can go take out your home as fast as you want!" Deidara sighed when Sasori didn't respond and quickly finished up dressing his wound before grabbing his last pouch of clay and setting it on his right hip.

"Will that be enough to finish the job?" asked Sasori as the large boulder blocking the exit began to lift slowly.

"Hn, it'll be plenty to show the world my art. I'll make more once we clean this mess up."

"We'll be the one's cleaning up any mess" said a voice just before both ninja jumped in opposite directions, avoiding a massive wall of weapons.

"It seems some of our prey has come to us, delightful" said Sasori in a rough voice.

"You must be mistaken Red Sand. You have become the prey in this hunt" said Sasuke, Edian appearing at his side as Naruto faced off Deidara with Yugito.

"Did you think we didn't know about this little group of yours months ago?" asked Deidara, stalling while he began to mold clay in his hand.

"I'm sure you did but we've never battled the Akatsuki. Do you think that everyone is under you besides a select few kage?" asked Yugito and Deidara laughed.

"Maybe it's just you four who think you can take us on but there is one piece of advice I can give you. Art is a bang!" shouted the blonde man before his body began to glow and it exploded, causing the cave to collapse. Four figured jumped back through the cloud of smoke and rubble, skidding to a stop on the lake near the cave.

"Using the momentary confusion to destroy my outer shell puppet. I'll commend you for your reaction speed if anything" said a much softer voice as a red head appeared atop the rubble.

"I guess you're the only one left" said Naruto, looking around casually for the other member.

"I am all that is needed for this bout. You four are nothing but children far in over your head and I am here to teach you that with true, everlasting art."

"Sasuke, Yugito, go look for his partner. He couldn't have gone that far" said Naruto and the two took off. Sasori was going to act and stop them but he decided to dodge a few kunai thrown his way by the taller blond.

"Look, I'll make this simple. We're always looking for members and I'm sure you're only here for money. We can offer you more and an easier job than what they have you doing now."

"Are you really trying to buy me off? I haven't actually had this happen before but I'll decline because no amount of money will make me betray the man who leads this group."

"Our goals and reasons are much more sensible then using the bijuu create the original ten tails to destroy and oppress the entire world" retorted Naruto. He could see the momentary twitch and hesitation from the puppet like man and he knew then that everyone who worked in Akatsuki didn't know the true end goal.

"Did you not know what would happen when you bring all the tailed beast together again? It is the second coming of the original beast only the original sage could fight against on any kind of level ground. Do you really want to be one of the ones who is responsible for that monstrosity to live once again?"

"Your lies and sweet talking will not change my-" Sasori stopped mid-sentence when the man in front of him suddenly appeared right next to him, a black dagger like object pressed against his 'heart.'

"I will ask again, are you sure? These people you work for, that leader, he's hellbent on turning this place into a war to stop all wars. However, the final war will leave nothing but rubble and burning flesh which no one will survive in. Is that truly the path you want to walk down, Sasori of the Red Sand?" asked Naruto again, his voice calm but much colder than before.

"If I refuse this offer?"

"Your death will be swift and no one will remember the one who defeated the third Kazekage. You will become less than a whisper, just meaningless words floating through the sand to be forgotten. I can assure you if you side with us you may become the whisper of something more, you will help create a path not to some unattainable peace but the balance between chaos and tranquility." Edian watched in an odd since of fascination, astounded as to how he was handling this. She's never seen him speak an enemy like that to the point where he's turning them to their side with words alone. Maybe it was just because she wasn't the best with them but even though she knew the groups goal, hearing them again filled her with a sense of belonging once more. She use to be a freelance spy for Jiraiya but now she was with people she adored and looked up to, fighting for a goal that seemed so sensible. By the look on his face, that man was beginning to see things slowly as she was.

"You think you can take on our leader? This man, or whatever he is, can take all of us on and you expect me to just throw sand in his face and turn my back? I'll just become another target for them, as you and your friend are."

"I'm sure we can find a way to take care of the leader when the time comes but for now, there is the decision for you to make here. Will you join us and become part of something more than what you are trying to create now or perish before you can truly fulfill your life?" Sasori stayed silent and both were unmoving as Sasuke and Yugito returned from their search.

"What's happened?" asked Sasuke.

"He's offered him a place with us, and right now he's thinking it through" said Edian.

"Seriously? Why'd he offer that guy a place?"

"He's just like Kakuzu, in it for the money mostly. If we have someone like him we've got more power on our side and we have a larger network to add in with ours" said Sasuke but he was a little on edge. Anything could happen at this moment and they hadn't found his partner so there was no telling when he may show back up.

"Very well, I accept this offer on one condition. I will work alone as much as possible. I'm tired of toting around a partner when I can operate just fine on my own." Naruto stayed for a few moment before pulling his hand back and letting the dagger disappear in a wisp of black energy.

"That's fine, glad to see you moved to our side" said Naruto holding his hand out. Sasori looked down briefly before taking the hand and shaking it.

"I'll get straight to it, what happens now? I was intent on hunting you down and killing you later so I don't really have any other plans."

"First thing, where is your partner?"

"He probably ran off and left you guys to me and expects to meet up at another base farther away from the village."

"At least he isn't here, hiding somewhere" said Yugito with a sigh, thinking he was somehow hidden but close enough to attack when Sasori signaled.

"I do have another question. Were you really prepared to fight me?"

"Yes, completely. My skills aren't just moving quick to get the drop on someone so I can hold my own in a fight just fine but what's a big rule in the ninja world? The fastest usual win, so I try to be just that and end most fights before they go too far. Could we take you on if you got away from me? Yes, I'm certain we could since we know more about you than you think."

"Why's that? Is there some leak with contacts?" Sasori was genuinely worried someone he was in contact with was releasing information.

"No, we have our own sources. We'll speak on this another time. Now is there anything of importance we need to know about?"

"Nothing immediately but within a few months I will be meeting a contact very close to Orochimaru on Tenchi bridge in Grass. He's supposedly carrying valuable information regarding some bases and any recent activity that snake has been up to recently."

"You keep tabs on him too? I'm surprise you got someone close to him" said Sasuke. They never got much on the sanin, he was crafty at what he did. If this guy had someone directly under him that was a big improvement in their network.

"I kept tabs after he left the group but I'm having my doubts recently. Things haven't been totally right when meeting the contact so I think things may go sour this time around which was why I planned on having Deidara there to help but you four would be plenty fine if you really were planning on taking me on."

"You aren't some all-powerful ninja now" deadpanned Yugito.

"I have yet to see you four actually do battle with me or any S-rank therefor I have my doubts."

"Fair enough, we haven't really proved ourselves to the world just yet but give it time and you'll see how good we are. Now, follow us. We'll leave your partner alone for now because you need to meet the head of the organization before we go any further."

"Oh joy" said Sasori sarcastically before taking off down the lake and into the tree line.

**Gonna stop here, just a little snip to show you guys I'm still here and deicide to start this bad boy up when I got not one but FIVE private messages in the span of a week asking me if I was going to update. I honestly was debating marking is as complete but I had planned the ending for this damn thing out a year ago and I feel obligated to at least finish this thing. I expect at least a good ten or more chapters before getting anywhere near finishing but just know, my ending here is not gonna be like any other. For the current progression, I had planned on using the seven sins originally instead of Brotherhood but I felt both were needed. The Sins could be created from Brotherhood, like the elite squad of the group, their best of the best. I'm not just running the seven deadly sins bandwagon here either, this was planned years ago but I'm a lazy SOB so there you go. Expect a lot for the next chapter, gonna really push plot here seeing as I'm already keeping Sasori alive and showing that there is willingness to compromise and barter instead of fighting everything that doesn't breath like you. No, Naruto and CO. are not OP but as a unit they are strong with each of their own roles. Remember, hiriashin is OP but in certain circumstance and Sasori's 'heart' is a big one. I'll see you lovely kids later, take it easy and fucking live life.**


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